News

Construction materials being transported by helicopter high above Prague fell into the Vltava river on Friday near Čechův Bridge. Police say the fact that no one was injured by the falling beam is merely a coincidence, and they will determine the party responsible for the accident. The cargo itself was later retrieved by a faltboat. Construction helicopters follow the path of the river as a precaution against exactly such incidents, and this latest is the second in the last two years. In late 2008 a two-hundred-kilo container fell into the river between Charles Bridge and Střelecky Island, both of which are frequented by thousands of tourists daily. No one has yet been charged in either incident.

Two young people were seriously injured on Sunday by a lightning strike near the north Bohemian town of Trutnov. One of the victims suffered major burns and was brought by rescuers to the burns centre of Prague’s Vinohrady Hospital by helicopter in a state of unconsciousness. The other victim of the accident was conscious and was taken to hospital in nearby Hradec Králové.

The Prague Zoo has announced that the baby gorilla born in its care roughly a month ago is a male. As gender cannot be determined by eye in gorilla young, it was found out by testing DNA taken from its droppings, a method that is not conclusive and must be conducted multiple times. It is now the second young male gorilla of three at the zoo. The animal is to be named on May 30 by its “godfather”, singer Karel Gott. So far the public has sent in 3000 suggestions for mostly Cezch and African names.

The clean up after the floods has started in most parts of Moravia in spite of overnight rain. River levels stabilised and are expected to continue falling on Saturday. The highest level of flood alert applied on Friday at only one site in the south of the country. As flooding eased, more than a dozen cases of subsidence have been registered with at least three houses demolished as a result. Hundreds of people evacuated from their homes have been allowed back in northern and central Moravia, including the town of Troubky. It was the symbol of the devastating 1997 floods in Moravia.

Power companies have called off their state of emergency with supplies being connected again. The floods have claimed one victim to date, a 69-year-old woman who died in her garden when the River Olše burst its banks at Třinec last Sunday. The Ministry of Regional Development promised up to 30,000 crowns to households that suffered flooding and 150,000 crowns to those whose homes had been destroyed.