AFP/The Hague
Talking point: A man takes a photo of the partially destroyed TV tower in Hoogersmilde
A fire caused a partial collapse of a 300m communications mast in northern Netherlands yesterday, knocking out television and radio stations, a local municipal official said.
The fire at the television mast in Hoogersmilde in the Drenthe province, about 160km northeast of Amsterdam, broke out around 2pm (1200 GMT), said Midden-Drenthe municipality spokeswoman Miriam Fokkema.
“There was a fire shortly before 2pm and then about 3.45pm, the upper part of the mast collapsed,” Fokkema told AFP.
Dutch news agency ANP said a 200m-high metal mast collapsed on top of a 100m concrete tower after the fire broke out.
“Nobody is believed to have been injured,” said Fokkema.
The spokeswoman added that the area suffered severe communication problems with the tower used as a major broadcast hub for television, radio and telephone communications.