This article is from the source 'washpo' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/train-crash-in-southern-germany-causes-injuries/2016/02/09/527aa67a-cf01-11e5-90d3-34c2c42653ac_story.html

The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 9 Version 10
Train crash in Germany kills at least 10, injures 80 Train crash in Germany kills at least 10, injures 80
(about 1 hour later)
BAD AIBLING, Germany — Two commuter trains crashed head-on Tuesday in southern Germany, killing 10 people and injuring 80 as they slammed into each other on a curve after an automatic safety braking system apparently failed, the transport minister said. BAD AIBLING, Germany — Crews using helicopters and boats rescued dozens of people from the wreckage of two German commuter trains that crashed head-on Tuesday in an isolated part of Bavaria, killing at least 10 and leaving authorities trying to determine why multiple safety measures failed.
The regional trains collided before 7 a.m. (0600 GMT) on the single line that runs near Bad Aibling in the German state of Bavaria. Aerial footage shot by The Associated Press showed that the impact tore the two engines apart, shredded metal train cars and flipped several of them on their sides off the rails. The trains crashed on a stretch of track running between a river and a forest about 40 miles (60 kilometers) southeast of Munich. Though the first rescue crews were on the scene in minutes, it took hours for all survivors to be airlifted and shuttled by boat across the river to waiting ambulances.
The first emergency units were on the scene within three minutes of receiving the call, but with a river on one side and a forest on the other, it took hours to reach some of the injured in the wreckage. Hundreds of rescue crews using helicopters and small boats shuttled injured passengers to the other side of the Mangfall River to waiting ambulances, which took them to hospitals across southern Bavaria. Nine people were reported dead immediately while a tenth died later in a hospital, police spokesman Stefan Sonntag said. The two train engineers were thought to be among the dead and one person was still missing in the wreckage.
Nine people were reported dead immediately while a tenth died later in a hospital, police spokesman Stefan Sonntag said, adding that the two train drivers were thought to be among the dead and one person was still missing in the wreckage. “The missing person is in the part of the train where there’s little hope of finding anyone alive,” Sonntag said. “This is the biggest accident we have had in years in this region.”
“We have little more than hope of finding them still alive,” he said. “This is the biggest accident we have had in years in this region.” Investigators called off their search through the rubble after night fell, but Sonntag said they would resume at first light as they tried to determine why safety measures failed to stop the crash.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said safety systems on the stretch had been checked as recently as last week, but Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt suggested that a system designed to automatically brake trains if they accidentally end up on the same track didn’t seem to have functioned properly. Two black boxes have been recovered and are being analyzed, which should show what went wrong, Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said.
Dobrindt, however, said it was too early to draw a definitive conclusion. “We need to determine immediately whether it was a technical problem or a human mistake,” he said, adding that crews are still searching for a third black box.
“The site is on a curve. We have to assume that the train drivers had no visual contact and hit each other without braking,” Dobrindt told reporters in Bad Aibling, adding that speeds of up to 100 kph (60 mph) were possible on the stretch. The two trains were supposed to pass one another at a station where the track was divided, and a safety system installed on much of Germany’s labyrinthine rail network was supposed to automatically brake trains that end up on the same track heading toward each other, authorities said. The two trains slammed into one another on a curve, meaning that their engineers wouldn’t have seen each other until it was too late.
Black boxes from both trains had been recovered and are now being analyzed, which should show what went wrong, Dobrindt said. Dobrint said the black box data will show whether there was a signal from the automatic braking system, and if so, why the trains didn’t brake until too late.
“We need to determine immediately whether it was a technical problem or a human mistake,” he said. German police would not comment on a local media report citing an anonymous source that authorities believed human error might be at fault.
Authorities had initially reported 150 injured, but Sonntag later lowered that figure to 80. Seventeen had injuries considered serious, he said. “Everybody is at a loss right now,” said Christian Boettger, an expert on Germany’s train system who works at Berlin’s University of Applied Sciences.
Each train can hold up to 1,000 passengers and they are commonly used by children traveling to school. Fewer than 200 people in all were on board Tuesday, however, because of regional holidays to celebrate Carnival. “Trains are the safest means of transportation,” he said. “There are so many security measures in place in this system that the crash is multiply mysterious.”
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said safety systems on the stretch where the crash occurred had been checked as recently as last week.
Passengers spoke of feeling hard braking then a “giant bang” as the two trains slammed into one another, tearing the two engines apart, and derailing cars near the front.
“I heard people screaming for help and heard the sound of broken glass as people were getting out,” a survivor identified only as Patrick told RTL television.
He said his car was still on the tracks, but he could see the train that hit it and the first two wagons of his train were twisted and torn open.
“Bit by bit people were climbing out, some of them daubed in blood,” he said. “Some were hobbling and dirty, falling into the mud.”
Each train can hold up to 1,000 passengers and they are commonly used by children traveling to school at around the time the crash occurred, just before 7 a.m. However, fewer than 200 people were on board Tuesday because of regional holidays to celebrate Carnival. Schools in Bavaria were also closed because of the weeklong winter break.
“We’re lucky that we’re on the Carnival holidays, because usually many more people are on these trains,” regional police chief Robert Kopp said.“We’re lucky that we’re on the Carnival holidays, because usually many more people are on these trains,” regional police chief Robert Kopp said.
About 700 emergency personnel from Germany and neighboring Austria were involved in the rescue effort, using about a dozen helicopters. Train operator Bayerische Oberlandbahn started a hotline for family and friends desperate to check on passengers.About 700 emergency personnel from Germany and neighboring Austria were involved in the rescue effort, using about a dozen helicopters. Train operator Bayerische Oberlandbahn started a hotline for family and friends desperate to check on passengers.
“This is a huge shock. We are doing everything to help the passengers, relatives and employees,” said Bernd Rosenbusch, the head of the Bayerische Oberlandbahn. “This is a huge shock. We are doing everything to help the passengers, relatives and employees,” said company head Bernd Rosenbusch.
In Munich, 60 kilometers (40 miles) away, the city blood center put out an urgent call for immediate donations in the wake of the crash. In Munich, the city blood center put out an urgent call for donations in the wake of the crash.
Germany is known for the quality of its train service, but the country has seen several other accidents, typically at road crossings. Most recently, a train driver and a passenger were killed in May when a train hit the trailer of a tractor in western Germany, and another 20 people were injured. Germany is known for the quality of its train service, but the country has seen several other accidents, typically at road crossings. Most recently, a train engineer and a passenger were killed in May when a train hit a vehicle in western Germany, and another 20 people were injured.
In 2011, 10 people were killed and 23 injured in a head-on collision of a passenger train and a cargo train on a single-line track close to Saxony-Anhalt’s state capital of Magdeburg in eastern Germany.In 2011, 10 people were killed and 23 injured in a head-on collision of a passenger train and a cargo train on a single-line track close to Saxony-Anhalt’s state capital of Magdeburg in eastern Germany.
Germany’s worst train accident took place in 1998, when a high-speed ICE train crashed in the northern German town of Eschede, killing 101 people and injuring more than 80.Germany’s worst train accident took place in 1998, when a high-speed ICE train crashed in the northern German town of Eschede, killing 101 people and injuring more than 80.
______
David Rising in Berlin and David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed to this report. Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Rising and Grieshaber reported from Berlin. Associated Press writer David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed to this report.
Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.