January 5 (SeeNews) - A German cargo barge loaded with around 1,000 tonnes of nitrogen fertiliser sank last night after hitting a bridge on the Danube River connecting Serbia to Croatia, Serbia's environment ministry said on Friday.
The accident occurred just after midnight, when the barge hit the pillar of the 25-May bridge that connects the Backa Palanka border crossing in Serbia to the Ilok crossing in Croatia, the ministry said in a statement, adding Croatian authorities were notified of the accident.
Serbia's Environmental Protection Agency will conduct sampling of all physical and chemical parameters at the site in order to analyse water quality and determine the impact of the accident on the environment, the ministry said.