Two people hospitalised in car crash at Cork bridge as chunk of wall knocked into river
Barricades have been erected at the site where the wall was knocked down to keep the area safe for pedestrians
Two people were hospitalised after the car they were travelling in crashed into the wall of a historic Cork City's bridge.
Emergency services were alerted to the crash at the junction of Sullivan's Quay and Parliament Bridge shortly before 1am on Wednesday.
A large section of Parliament Bridge was badly damaged after the accident resulting in barricades being placed around it to make the area safe for pedestrians.
Gardaí who are carrying out an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the crash say the man and woman sustained non-life threatening injuries.
The historic bridge - built in 1806 - sustained substantial damage to eight metres of its stone parapet. Cork City Council road maintenance crews attended the scene and managed to recover a large amount of the stone which has been put in storage.
Local authority staff are to carry out an assessment of the remedial work required to restore the bridge over the coming days.
The site is a historic one, being the site of a vital Cork bridge for over 250 years. In the 1760s, a timber bridge was erected at the site of Parliament Bridge but a local man reportedly died after it fell into disrepair.
The current stone single-arched bridge linking George’s Quay to Fr. Matthew Quay was built in 1806, mainly from limestone.