German police raided people involved in a mining company this morning in connection with the severe flooding last summer. The Public Prosecution Service in Cologne suspects a company that operates a gravel pit near Erftstadt of not complying with the regulations.
The company would not have built a flood defense and would have excavated so much soil that too much water could enter the quarry during the floods. The quarry was flooded with water, which is believed to have led to a landslide on July 16 that also caused houses to collapse. That day also fell in Erftstadt kill, but according to image no deaths occurred in these specific collapses.
140 agents
The investigation focuses, among other things, on the owner and lessor of the opencast mine. Documents are also seized from the regulator that grants licenses for these types of companies.
About 140 police officers are involved in the raids. More than 20 office and residential buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia and one in Thuringia are being searched.
Heavily hit
The area around Erfstadt was severely affected by the high water last summer. More than 180 people were killed across Germany.
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