Tower Bridge's Glass Walkway Isn't Falling Down, Just Hideously Cracked

Image via YouTube

The first foray of London’s Tower Bridge glass walkway has been absolutely smashing.

The Daily Mail’s Sarah Gordon reports a section of the glass walkway that opened two weeks ago has been smashed thanks to a beer bottle and stiletto heel.

An image of the shattered glass first appeared thanks to Twitter user Peter Gordon who posted the following image, which later garnered quite the cult following from media outlets.

Was in tower bridge walkway today, someone dropped a beer bottle; this happened pic.twitter.com/fYFju69XBS

— Peter Gordon (@the1gordo) November 21, 2014

Gordon then went on to state that, while appearing dangerous, the crack merely looked like a horrible tragedy in waiting:

Well that tweet got quite a bit of attention... The damage was superficial and there was *never* any danger!

— Peter Gordon (@the1gordo) November 24, 2014

As BBC News reported earlier in the month, tourists and curious locals now have a breathtaking view of the River Thames thanks to a glass installation that allows for views of the ground below:

Of course the last thing heights-weary travelers want to see is a bunch of cracks on the ground beneath their feet. Thankfully, there was never any danger to those nearby.

According to the report, someone dropped a beer bottle onto the glass and the crack was exacerbated when a woman walked over it with her heel, which we have to believe was a scary moment for those involved.

Gordon, however, writes, “Officials at the attraction have rushed to reassure visitors, stating that the broken glass was just a 'sacrificial' layer. The transparent walkway is made up of five layers of glass in each pane and it was just the top one which was damaged.”

A similar incident occurred at Chicago’s Willis Tower in May when one of its observation boxes suffered cracks to its floor. Similarly, officials comforted visitors by stating the crack was to its “protective coating,” via CNN.

As for London’s mishap, Tower Bridge head Chris Earlie spoke to reporters and offered, “We are gutted it's happened in the first couple of weeks when it's been open to the public but it's completely safe.” Earlie continued, “We should have said no glass on the glass section of the floor. It was a bit shortsighted of us.”

There is no mention of any change in procedure, but we imagine the walkway may just be bottle free in the future. Although we assume the latest high-heel fashions will be welcomed.

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