Acid Spill Ruins Otherwise Picturesque Area

If there's one thing that always cheers me up it's a story about boatloads of acid. The human race has shown its flaws in handling almost everything, from nuclear power to oil rigs, and the thought of an accident where it's ONLY a boatload of acid is, in a way, a relief. Also the fact that it's in Germany is alright, but I bet when the acid leaks out, it goes straight down the river in a jetstream and will probably end up destroying Biloxi.

I love the part where they need an expert to explain that the acid could leak out and they actually have no control over anything. Duh hey, really governor? This Bud's for you.

But the really good part here is, it happened in a mythic place. Where the maiden of Loreley sung her song, and horny sailors plowed their ships into the rocks trying to follow it. What a bitch. Maybe the maiden still sings? And this acid boat captain heard it? Reminds me of another Zeppelin song. "Hammer of the Gods," right? Cool.

So hats off to the acid bath to come! Could have been worse.

A tanker loaded with sulfuric acid capsized on the Rhine river in Germany on Thursday, and special cranes and more than 100 rescuers struggled to right the vessel and find two crew members who remain missing.

There was no immediate word on why the ship capsized, the shipping office in Bingen said. Two other crew members were rescued from the ship, which overturned near St. Goarshausen, in western Germany, early in the day.

The 360-foot (110-meter) long tanker was carrying 2,400 tons of sulfuric acid. There were no indications that the load was leaking and initial measurements carried out downstream from the scene showed no abnormalities, the shipping office said.

Yet given the difficulty of righting the vessel, leakage of the chemicals cannot be ruled out, Kurt Beck, governor of Rhineland-Palatinate state, told reporters.
The accident happened on a picturesque stretch of the Rhine near the famed Loreley cliff, where the river runs 370 feet (113 meters) wide and 82 feet (25 meters) deep, making it one of the most dangerous bends in the river.

Legends of a beautiful maiden on the Loreley singing to sailors passing on the waters below are told to have cost countless men their lives.

[Associated Press]