Too many people on the ice Police and public order office close frozen lake in the Rheinaue park
Bonn/Niederkassel · The Siegauen near Niederkassel and the Rheinaue in Bonn were popular destinations for outings over the weekend. Many people walked or skated on the ice. One area in the Rheinaue park had to be closed by police.
A frozen lake in Bonn's Rheinaue park had to be closed by the police and public order office on Sunday afternoon after it became overcrowded with around one hundred people. No one fell in, according to the police, but the frozen lake was simply too full, and the danger was too great that the ice would not withstand the load and collapse. At around 3.30 p.m., the police asked people to leave the ice. The area was then cordoned off with tape. The public order office remained at the site until the evening to control the situation.
On Sunday, the municipal authorities in Bonn once again warned against going on frozen lakes and other water surfaces. If you see someone in distress who has broken through the ice, the city warns against going on the frozen surface yourself. Instead, call the emergency number and, if possible, a long branch, rope or similar should be handed to the person.
The city's public order service carried out controls on Sunday in the Rheinaue as well as in the Siegaue and called on people via megaphone to comply with the corona rules, the city said. However, no fines were imposed.
Already on Saturday, many people were out and about in the Rheinaue and skating on the frozen surfaces. There were similar scenes at the Siegaue too, where many day trippers were out on the ice, for example parallel to the A565 near the Niederkassel exit. Very few of them were wearing masks. Below the motorway exit, many cars were clustered on dirt roads and agricultural land. Children and adults ran across the fields onto the ice - equipped with skates, sledges, ice hockey sticks, camping chairs and thermos flasks with hot drinks. Not all of them kept to the prescribed distancing rules.
It was the same on Sunday in the bright sunny weather: along the country roads, many people parked their cars after the few permitted parking spaces were quickly taken. Skaters mainly flocked to the places that are easy to reach by car. Large sections of the more distant frozen areas remained empty.
Original text: Leandra Kubiak and Dieter Hombach
Translation: Caroline Kusch
