Overview
- The Bochum fire department was alerted around 14:20 on Monday to a falling hazard at the Melanchthonkirche in the Ehrenfeld district.
- Regular cranes and turntable ladders could not reach the ornament positioned about 54 meters high on the tower.
- An initial telescopic mast from a Gelsenkirchen refinery brigade proved too short before a 72-meter unit from Essen enabled access.
- Crews netted the 70-centimeter sphere, detached it from the roof, closed the street below, and lowered it safely to the ground.
- The 45-kilogram object was received by the Evangelische Kirchengemeinde Bochum-Wiemelhausen, and its possible return to the tower remains unresolved.