An Intercity Express train bound for Bremen struck a truck loaded with railroad tracks at a level crossing in Hamburg’s Rönneburg district on Tuesday, February 11. One passenger died. Police said 25 people were hurt, six of them seriously.
The dead man was a 55-year-old passenger, police said. A fire department spokesman told reporters he was resuscitated at the scene and later died, either on the way to hospital or there.
The train carried 291 passengers. More than 250 were unhurt. Police arranged buses to take them away from the scene, and the uninjured were evacuated to a nearby station. The rails from the truck were scattered across the crossing. German news agency dpa quoted a witness who said windows in the front cars of the train shattered.
A woman aboard told dpa the train suddenly braked hard, followed by a loud impact. Officials said it was not clear what led to the crash, and early reports did not say whether the truck driver was hurt. The driver was taken in for questioning, according to the Standard.
Rail traffic on the line between Hamburg-Harburg and Maschen in Lower Saxony was shut for a time, and other trains were diverted. By Wednesday morning the train had been towed away and one track had been reopened.
Sources
- Germany: Train collides with truck in Hamburg, killing 1
- One dead and 25 injured after passenger train collides with truck in Hamburg
