Far from everybody in Bratislava is behaving responsibly during the floods on the Danube River, with the authorities spotting attempts to dismantle aluminium anti-flood barriers with the obvious aim of taking them to a scrapyard, mayor of Bratislava Milan Ftáčnik said on Thursday. “It's absurd that anything like this could happen. People don't realise that [the barriers] are protecting the entire city,” said Ftáčnik. With the situation on the Danube River described by the city authority as ‘critical’, many people view this as an opportunity to have an adrenaline experience, said head of the Emergency Staff Ľubomír Andrassy.
In one case, three drunk men were found rowing a boat at the confluence of the Danube and Morava Rivers below Devin Castle on Wednesday evening. They responded to police calls with profanity. Many people are venturing into the most dangerous places, such as Karlova Ves Bay or the borough of Devin, where their presence is causing problems for rescue teams and locals who are tackling the high water. It was due to the dangerous behaviour of many people that the Old Bridge had to be closed down on Wednesday evening. The city authority is now considering closing off the embankment between the SNP and Lafranconi Bridges for the same reason.
