Some 100-tonne Rock Falls From Strecno Cliff in Zilina region

Strecno, July 19 (TASR) – An approximately 100-tonne chunk of rock tumbled off the cliff situated under Strecno Castle (Zilina region) and fell on the closed I/18 road that connects Martin and Zilina on Tuesday evening (July 18), project manager of the maintenance work aimed at strengthening the cliff face Branislav Prelovsky confirmed for TASR on Wednesday.

“Yesterday while cleaning and testing the movement of the block, an extraordinary situation emerged and the entire block started to move. The thing we didn’t want happened, meaning that it came down in one go. We were afraid that it’d fall on the road and destroy it. Fortunately, it broke into smaller pieces while falling down and so far it seems that it’s going to be all right,” said Prelovsky, adding that a crisis team is set to meet later this afternoon.

Last month several rocks fell from that part of the cliff which wasn’t originally supposed to undergo maintenance work. A geotechnical survey subsequently showed that other rocks may come crashing down from the cliff at any time. So, it was necessary to declare an extraordinary situation in the village of Strecno until further notice.

Prelovsky added that workers were deployed immediately to the area and laid a layer of grit on the road below Strecno Castle in an effort to mitigate the impact of rocks falling from the unsecured cliff.

Meanwhile, the busy I/18 road running below the castle was also shut down on Sunday (July 16) and should remain closed until July 30. The closure also applies to cyclists and pedestrians, and the site is under constant surveillance by patrolling police officers.