Two passenger trains have collided head-on near the town of Bad Aibling in the southern German state of Bavaria. Police told German agencies that at least four people have been killed and 15 critically injured.
The accident occured shortly after 6:48 a.m. local time (0548 UTC) on Tuesday, about 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Munich. One train derailed in the head-on collision and several carriages overturned.
“The current toll is four dead, 15 critically injured, 40 severely injured and a total of 100 injured,” said police spokesman Martin Winkler in the town of Rosenheim.
The serious casualties were airlifted to hospital by helicopter, while ambulances transported the rest.
“At the scene of the collision, all you can see is debris. Rescue workers are climbing around and pulling people out,” Bavarian broadcaster “Bayerischer Rundfunk” quoted a rescue worker as saying.
Chief executive of the Upper Bavarian Rail Service Bernd Rosenbusch said the accident was a “huge shock.”
“We are doing everything to help the commuters, their relatives and staff,” he added.
The cause of the collision was not immediately clear. The trains belonged to regional transport company Meridian, who described the crash as a “tragic accident.” Deutsche Bahn is responsible for the track, however.
“This is the biggest accident we have had in years in this region and we have many emergency doctors, ambulances and helicopters on the scene,” police spokesperson Stefan Sonntag said, adding that some people were still stuck in the wreckage.
Due to Bavaria’s Fasching version of this week’s carnival celebrations, the train was initially believed to be carrying fewer passengers than would normally be expected during commuter hours.
-DW.COM
