Police said a 57-year-old truck driver was arrested after quantities of potatoes were found on a bridge connecting two Danish islands. The driver was detained on suspicion of reckless endangerment of his life.
Police spokesman Kenneth Tanquist said the first leak was reported on the west side of the Storpailt Bridge early Thursday morning. The bridge connects the island where the capital, Copenhagen, is located, to the rest of Denmark.
Tanquist added that a similar incident occurred on the east side a short time later. “It sounds strange,” he said. “We’re working on two hypotheses: Either it was an accident or something that was done on purpose.”
Police said the roads had become slippery and urged drivers to slow down. According to the Danish Roads Directorate, lines of vehicles have been reported on both sides of the 18-kilometer (11-mile) bridge and tunnel link between the islands of Funen, where Odense – Denmark’s third largest city – and Zealand, where Copenhagen is located.
A third potato accident was reported on the road near the town of Kolding on the Jutland Peninsula. Kolding is located near the Storebaelt Bridge.
The Danish public radio said that the potato spill occurred on the same day that the Danish Parliament passed a law imposing taxes on diesel trucks that transport heavy loads.
The new measure sparked protests from truck drivers. In recent weeks, they have been peacefully blocking highways and major roads across Denmark, claiming that the taxes would make their livelihoods unsustainable. The majority in the Danish Parliament argues that the tax is vital because the continued use of petrol and diesel trucks is not environmentally sustainable.
From 2025, drivers of petrol and diesel vehicles over 3.5 tonnes (7,716 lb) will be taxed at DKK 1.3 (15p) per kilometre.
Turbine Dale Horth, a spokesman for the protesting truckers, said on Facebook that they are “strongly distancing themselves from today’s ‘stunts’. The drivers plan to protest at a later stage when it ‘can be felt but without risking people’s lives and well-being’.”
