Saturday September 19, 2009, 7:58 pm
Luzie Sustains a Broken Hip and a Bloody Mouth Before She Is Successfully Rescued from the Busy Elbtunnel

Boasting four tubes and eight lanes that carry one-hundred-fifty-thousand vehicles per day, the Neuer Elbtunnel in Hamburg is no place for pedestrians, let alone an eight-week-old kitten. Nonetheless, that is precisely where Luzie found herself stranded during the morning rush hour on June 30th.

Fortunately for her, she was spotted by a concerned motorist who telephoned the local police in order to report a "Katze in Roehre Ein des Elbtunnels." Forty-one-year-old traffic cop Soenke de Vries responded promptly to the call and was on the scene within four minutes.

He ordered the first tube closed and within six minutes he had spotted the frightened and bleeding Luzie cowering behind a support cable. "Als mein Mann sie hochgehoben und an sich gedrueckt hat, ist sie ihm gleich unter die Warnweste gekrabbelt," his thirty-five-year-old wife, Steffi, later related to the Hamburger Abendblatt on July 27th. (See "Luzies wunderbare Rettung aus dem Elbtunnel.")

Luzie was taken to an animal shelter where it was determined that she had suffered a broken hip and an unspecified injury to her mouth. Most likely she was the victim of a glancing blow from a motorist because it would have been impossible for her to have survived a direct hit.

Soenke, quite naturally, informed Steffi of the extraordinary rescue and she immediately decided that she had to have Luzie. "Wir haben staendig angerufen, um zu fragen, 'Wie es ihr geht?'," she told the Hamburger Abendblatt. "Die Mitarbeiter in der Telefonzentrale kannten unseren Namen nach einer Weile schon und haben uns dann gleich ins Katzenhaus durchgestellt."

Please visit the site to read the rest:

Sunday September 20, 2009, 7:01 am
Wonderful story.. she definitely had an angel looking after her...

Sunday September 20, 2009, 12:46 pm
It was wonderful how de Vries swept in like a knight in shining armor, closed the tub down and then adopted her-he was an angel alright...and she was remarkable!

Sunday September 20, 2009, 4:18 pm
Good luck to that precious kitty!

Sunday September 20, 2009, 4:51 pm
Thanks Raffi

Sunday September 20, 2009, 5:56 pm
how disgusting that anyone would do anything so disgusting and barbaric to an animal.

Sunday September 20, 2009, 6:42 pm
Hey! That's Hamburg, my hometown, where I was born and raised! And I actually read that story online in a German (Hamburg) newspaper last week or so. I tend to think the same as Sönke that she came down from the park , probably following a mouse or rat into the tunnel , and following for too long to eventually feel lost. Of course there's also the possibility that she was dumped there, being still very small, and there is no private property right there, just a big public park and lots of roads and then the river Elbe, but I like to think positive like the de Vries family!

Sunday September 20, 2009, 10:21 pm
So pleased the little kitty was rescued in time. I would like to send a STAR to officer De vries

Sunday September 20, 2009, 11:13 pm
What a happy ending for this little one that wants to survice. Thanks to her rescuer!

Monday September 21, 2009, 1:29 am
I am so happy that the little fur ball has a place the baby can call home! Thanks to the heroes....
Thanks Raffi

Monday September 21, 2009, 3:58 am
Since I've driven through that tunnel many times I know what a terrifying experience this must have been for the poor kitten. Good that it all ended well.
Thanx Rafi

Monday September 21, 2009, 10:10 pm
I can't think of a worse place to be than a road tunnel and that's when I'm driving! Poor kitty must have been terrified. German Police are very efficient, maybe they have something to teach the US, Canadian and UK Police about animal welfare! Nice to read a happy ending story for a change!