Icy roads cause traffic chaos on German roads

Icy weather caused several accidents on major German roads on Friday and overnight.

A lorry carrying salmon skidded on slippery roads and overturned on the A93 motorway in a northern part of Bavaria, near the town of Wernberg-Köblitz.

The accident caused the lorry's trailer to burst open and the fish spread across the carriageway, according to a spokesman for the motorway police on Saturday.

The motorway was closed for more than 10 hours among others for the recovery and clean-up work.

The driver was not injured.

Another lorry skidded on the A1 motorway near the northern city of Bremen and collided with a sign and the crash barrier. The driver was uninjured, police said.

The officers on the scene temporarily closed the motorway and an operation was under way to clear the carriageway of ice and snow.

Bridge blockage in Hamburg

Dozens of lorries and cars became stranded on the icy Köhlbrand bridge in the northern German city of Hamburg on Friday, police said.

The vehicles were unable to make it up the bridge because of wintry road conditions, a police spokesman said.

One lorry began to slide and ended up sideways. Officers spent around six hours on Friday afternoon directing traffic.

At one point, officers counted around 30 to 40 lorries on the bridge. The number had been considerably higher at the start of the operation.

Traffic only began moving again after winter service crews reached the bridge and cleared the ice. No one was injured and, according to police.

Authorities are warning of more wet snow and icy conditions in the coming 24 hours