Section of wall on old Amsterdam canal collapses

A section of wall and sidewalk on one of Amsterdam's historic canals collapsed on Tuesday in a rare accident, but nobody was injured. Dijksma this year launched a 300 million euro project to strengthen the city's many sagging bridges and canal walls, built on Amsterdam's sandy ground. The wall that collapsed belongs to the nearby University of Amsterdam.

A section of wall and sidewalk on one of Amsterdam's historic canals collapsed on Tuesday in a rare accident, but nobody was injured. The roughly 15 meter (50 foot) section of wall on the Grimburgwal, near the city's central Dam square, abruptly fell into the water shortly afternoon.

City council member Sharon Dijksma told local TV station AT5 the cause was not yet known, but it could have been caused by a sinkhole under the wall. Dijksma this year launched a 300 million euro project to strengthen the city's many sagging bridges and canal walls, built on Amsterdam's sandy ground. The wall that collapsed belongs to the nearby University of Amsterdam. Nearby buildings appeared undamaged, and city engineers were hurrying to support the remaining wall.

Amsterdam's 17th-century canal ring has been on the UNESCO World Heritage List since 2010, though the area affected belongs to the even older city centre, close to the south end of the famed Red Light district.