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The Guardian
2 days ago
- General
- The Guardian
At least three people killed after train derails in southern Germany
Three people were killed and several others injured when a regional passenger train derailed in a wooded area in southwestern Germany on Sunday, police said. About 100 passengers were onboard the train when the accident occurred at 6.10pm local time near the town of Riedlingen in Baden-Württemberg state. Contacted by AFP, police initially said four people had been killed before correcting their statement to three victims. Authorities declined to elaborate on the number of injured or how seriously hurt they were. The German rail operator Deutsche Bahn confirmed several deaths and numerous injured. Two train carriages had derailed 'for reasons yet unknown', it added. Authorities were currently investigating the circumstances of the accident, the operator said, and traffic had been suspended over a 40km (25-mile) stretch of the route. German media reported that a landslide might have caused the accident as severe storms swept through the region, according to weather services. The passenger train was travelling from the German town of Sigmaringen to the city of Ulm when it derailed in a forested area. In a post on social media, the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, expressed his condolences to the families of those killed. He added that he was in close contact with both the interior and transport ministers, and had asked them to 'provide the emergency services with all the support they need'. Footage from the scene of the accident showed yellow-and-grey-coloured train carriages lying on their sides, as firefighters and emergency services tried to get to the passengers. According to local TV station SWR, helicopters arrived shortly after the accident to transport the injured to hospitals in the area, and emergency doctors from nearby hospitals were alerted. German transport is regularly criticised by passengers for its outdated infrastructure, with travellers facing frequent train delays and various technical problems. The government has pledged to invest several hundred billion euros over the next few years, in particular to modernise infrastructure. In June 2022, a train derailed near a Bavarian Alpine resort in southern Germany, killing four people and injuring dozens. Germany's deadliest rail accident happened in 1998 when a high-speed train operated by state-owned Deutsche Bahn derailed in Eschede in Lower Saxony, killing 101 people. This article was amended on 27 July 2025 to reflect the updated death toll reported by German police.
CTV News
2 days ago
- General
- CTV News
Train derailment that killed 3 in Germany apparently was caused by landslide
Wagons of a derailed regional passenger train lie on a railroad line near Riedlingen, Germany, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Thomas Warnack/dpa via AP) BERLIN — Investigators believe a landslide brought on by heavy rainfall likely caused a regional train to derail in southern Germany, killing three people and injuring 41 more. More than 100 people were aboard the Deutsche Bahn train when at least two carriages derailed Sunday evening in a forested area near Riedlingen, about 158 kilometres west of Munich. The train's 32-year-old driver, a 36-year-old apprentice and a 70-year-old passenger were killed, police said Monday. Some of the 41 injured were seriously hurt. Police said the downpours in the area caused a sewage shaft to overflow, likely triggering the landslide of an embankment where the derailment occurred. There was no evidence of an external influence that could have caused the derailment, police said. Photos from the scene showed parts of the train on its side as rescuers climbed atop the carriages. 'Such pictures shake us to the core,' Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said Monday, offering his condolences to the victims' families. He pledged full support for the effort to clear up the cause. ___ Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. Stefanie Dazio, The Associated Press
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- General
- BreakingNews.ie
German train derailment 'caused by landslide'
Investigators believe a landslide brought on by heavy rainfall likely caused a regional train to derail in southern Germany, killing three people and injuring 41 more. More than 100 people were aboard the Deutsche Bahn train when at least two carriages derailed on Sunday evening in a forested area near Riedlingen, about 98 miles west of Munich. Advertisement The train's 32-year-old driver, a 36-year-old apprentice and a 70-year-old passenger were killed, police said on Monday. Rescue workers search for passengers (Thomas Warnack/dpa via AP) Some of the 41 injured were seriously hurt. Police said the downpours in the area caused a sewage shaft to overflow, likely triggering the landslide of an embankment where the derailment occurred. There was no evidence of an external influence that could have caused the derailment, police said. Advertisement Photos from the scene showed parts of the train on its side as rescuers climbed atop the carriages. 'Such pictures shake us to the core,' Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said on Monday, offering his condolences to the victims' families. He pledged full support for the effort to clear up the cause.
New York Times
2 days ago
- New York Times
Heavy Rain Likely Caused Deadly German Train Derailment, Investigators Say
German investigators said Monday that a train derailment over the weekend that killed three people and injured 41 others was the result of a mudslide caused by heavy rains. 'The water caused a landslide on the embankment near the tracks, which in turn probably caused the derailment,' the police in Ulm, where the train was heading on Sunday evening when it went off the rails, said in a statement. The train driver, another member of the crew and a passenger were killed in the crash near Riedlingen, a small town roughly 30 miles north of Lake Constance in southern Germany. The police said that many of the injured were passengers. Videos of the scene that appeared on television networks showed several of the train's cars lying on their sides, bunched together next to the tracks. The rear car was still standing upright after the accident, but had also come off the tracks. The tracks were visibly bent several yards behind where the train came to a stop, the news footage showed. A large amount of mud was visible on several parts of the track. Rescue workers worked into the night trying to care for the wounded and transport them to surrounding hospitals. Half a dozen emergency helicopters helped in the evacuation, news reports said. The accident was one of the most deadly rail crashes in Germany since 2022, when a regional train derailed near Garmisch-Partenkirchen in southern Bavaria, killing five. In that case faulty tracks were deemed to be the cause.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Climate
- Irish Times
Germany train crash which killed three ‘caused by landslide'
German police say a landslide caused by heavy rain is the most likely cause of a train crash on Sunday evening that left three dead and 50 injured, 25 seriously. About 100 people were on the regional train RE55 from Sigmaringen to Ulm in southwest Germany when the crash happened shortly after 6pm near Riedlingen, 90 minutes south of Stuttgart. A preliminary investigation suggests the train raced into a mass of earth that collapsed on to the tracks. Like most of central Europe, the state of Baden-Württemberg had experienced heavy rain in recent days of up to 40 litres per square metre. 'The heavy rain caused a sewer to overflow in the area of the accident,' said local police in a statement. 'The water triggered a landslide from the surrounding bushes in the direction of the track which, in turn, caused the derailment.' READ MORE Among the three dead, local police said, were the train driver and a rail company employee. Most of the seriously injured were flown by helicopter for treatment in nearby Ulm. The track will remain closed for further crash investigation for the foreseeable future. After visiting the site, Baden-Württemberg's prime minister Winfried Kretschmann said he was shocked by the accident and expressed his 'heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the victims'.
