The roof of a long-distance bus was ripped clean off by a lower-than-expected bridge outside Berlin on Monday evening.

"Fortunately it was an empty run," the Berlin Fire Department told DPA news agency so no passengers were on board. Nobody was injured but the Flixbus vehicle suffered badly.

The fire brigade shared images of their extraction on Twitter

The bridge over Klärwerkstraße in Spandau is well-known to authorities and has deceived drivers of large vehicles before.

"People often get stuck there," the spokesman said.

Read more: Prague bridge collapse leaves 4 injured

Berlin police also shared images of the accident, helpfully pointing out that the 3.4 meter (11 feet, 1 inch) height limit applies to all vehicles "without exceptions," saying the warning signs were there "with good reason."

Twitter users have previously shared images of several vehicles stuck at the same railway underpass.

aw/msh (dpa)