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German prosecutors believe human error caused Bavaria train crash Prosecutors believe human error caused German train crash
(about 4 hours later)
A train crash in southern Germany that killed 11 people was probably caused by human error on the part of the train dispatcher, prosecutors have said. A head-on train crash in southern Germany that killed 11 people and injured more than 80 was caused by a train dispatcher’s “terrible human error”, prosecutors have said.
More than 80 people were injured when two commuter trains crashed into each other on a single-line track near Bad Aibling, 40 miles south-east of Munich, early on 9 February. The chief prosecutor Wolfgang Giese said on Tuesday that a criminal investigation had been launched against a 39-year-old man on suspicion of negligent homicide, bodily harm and interference with rail traffic.
Prosecutor Wolfgang Giese said his office has opened a criminal investigation against the 39-year-old dispatcher on suspicion of negligent homicide, bodily harm and interference with rail traffic. Speaking a week after two trains collided at about 60mph (100 km/h) on a single track near Bad Aibling, Bavaria, Giese said his team believed the dispatcher had given “a special signal which shouldn’t have been given”, thus overriding the automated stopping signal.
“Had he [the dispatcher] behaved according to the rules, the trains would not have collided,” Giese said. He did not identify the man, who was interviewed by police on Monday in the presence of his lawyer. After the man realised his error, he had made two emergency calls to try to stop the trains but had been unable to prevent the collision, Giese said.
Investigators believe that the dispatcher, whose job involves directing rail traffic and ensuring safety on the tracks, sent a wrong signal to the trains. After noticing his mistake, he tried to alert the drivers using an emergency call but failed to prevent the crash, prosecutors said. “If he [the dispatcher] had behaved according to the rules, as he was obliged to, the trains would not have collided,” Giese said.
The two trains were supposed to pass each other at a station where the track was divided, but instead they crashed head-on in a curve. The man, who was not identified, had started his shift at 5am. The crash occurred at 6.40am. Alcohol, drugs or illness had not played a role in the error, the prosecutor said.
Giese said a technical failure had been ruled out, but investigators planned to reconstruct the accident to test their theory of what happened. The dispatcher, who has several years’ experience in his job, had initially refused to give evidence, but agreed to be interviewed on Monday.
Another prosecutor, Jürgen Branz, said there was no indication that the dispatcher was under the influence of alcohol or drugs at the time of the crash. “What we have at the moment is a terrible error in this particular situation,” he said. Related: Black boxes recovered from site of German train crash that killed 10
The German transport minister, Alexander Dobrindt, had said there were no indications the crash was caused by a technical failure. Three black boxes have been recovered from the wreckage and are being analysed by investigators. In addition, police have interviewed 71 of the passengers involved in the crash.
Repair work to track damaged by the crash, between Holzkirchen and Rosenheim, is continuing, with the damaged section said to be up to 120 metres long.
One of the damaged train carriages, still next to the tracks, will be removed on Wednesday. Operator Deutsche Bahn said it was hoped the track would be usable by Thursday.
The state broadcaster ARD has been criticised in Germany for screening footage filmed inside the train immediately after the crash.
The clip, filmed by electrical engineer Joe Adediran on his mobile phone, had been uploaded to YouTube a few hours after the crash. The BBC also took the decision to screen the footage.
The Bad Aibling crash was one of the biggest train accidents in recent German history, and the worst since January 2011, when 10 people died after a commuter train collided with a freight train near Oschersleben in Saxony-Anhalt.
If convicted, the dispatcher could face up to five years in prison.If convicted, the dispatcher could face up to five years in prison.