A Noah’s Ark Replica in the Netherlands Broke Free and Caused Enormous Damage
- By Gary Nguyen --
- 05 Jan 2018 --
No human or animal died in the accident
The VerhalenArk, a museum glorifying events in the Bible and built in the shape of an ark, sparked huge chaos when it broke free of its moorings in Port of Urk. The museum then crashed into multiple boats which were docked along Ijsselmeer lake. According to media reports, a number of animals and people were inside the boat when the disaster happened. Local authorities rescued seven people. The animals, however, continued to live inside the confines of the boat.
A Noah’s Ark Replica in the Netherlands Broke Free and Caused Enormous Damage[/tweetthis]
The floating museum destroyed a number of boats anchored in Urk harbor. The Urk village itself is a staunch Protestant one. The village is located in Netherlands’ Flevoland province. Pieter van Maaren, the Mayor of Urk, said that the incident resulted in substantial damage to port infrastructure and other boats. No fatalities or reported. Injuries were minimal.
The owner of this museum, Aad Peters said, when questioned by a Flevoland radio station, said that strong wings had torn the replica ark from its seemingly secure moorings. The large vessel was tied to a boulder. The attachment has come off even when the boat was fastened properly. He said that he has no idea on how his boat managed to get loose. He showed concern for other ships in the harbor. According to Peters, nothing is there to worry about the ark itself as it is constructed from steel.
The pseudo-ark has been moored in the harbor of Urk for almost a year now. It first came to the waters in January 2017. As per its published schedule, the museum was to remain moored inside the fishing harbor up to February. The incident has put not only people on the boat in danger but also the people who were not on the boat in harm’s way. A lot of private properties were destroyed. The port infrastructure was also compromised.
The only positive factor which can be said about this regrettable accident is that both humans and the animals were safe. It is hoped that the animals survive this trauma. It is not clear whether Peters-the owner of the steel ark- will be held completely responsible for damage done. This is not the initial instance that the boat almost flowed away. The ark started to float away in December, but Peters thought he has found a solution to keep the boat in the same place. This clearly failed.
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