Germany train crash: Several killed near Bavarian town of Bad Aibling

[Syt]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35530538

Germany train crash: Several killed near Bavarian town of Bad Aibling

Two passenger trains have collided in the German state of Bavaria, with police saying at least four people have been killed and scores injured.

The head-on crash happened near Bad Aibling, a spa town about 60km (37 miles) south-east of Munich.

One of the trains was derailed in the crash and several carriages were overturned, German media reported.

Police said rescue teams were trying to free people still trapped in the wreckage.

Follow all latest updates here

Regional police said in a tweet (in German) that four people were dead and about 100 injured, of whom 15 were in a critical condition and 40 seriously hurt.

"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," another police spokesman, Stefan Sonntag, told the Associated Press news agency.

He said the two regional trains had collided on a single track between Rosenheim and Holzkirchen shortly before 07:00 local time (06:00 GMT).

Although the train was carrying commuters, local carnival holidays meant no schoolchildren were on board, according to reports.

The cause of the collision is not yet known.

Roads around the scene have been closed and the railway line between Holzkirchen and Rosenheim is blocked, local media reported.

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas tweeted (in German): "Really awful news from #badaibling - our thoughts are with the victims and injured. Thanks to the rescue workers"

[Martinus]

More like Bad Driving, amirite?

[grumbler]

More like Bad Driving, amirite?

Too soon.

[Liep]

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/feb/16/german-prosecutors-believe-human-error-caused-bavaria-train-crash

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.

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.

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.

"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.

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.

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.

Giese said a technical failure had been ruled out, but investigators planned to reconstruct the accident to test their theory of what happened.

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.

If convicted, the dispatcher could face up to five years in prison.

[The Brain]

How does the system (without tehnical failure) allow an operator to send two trains on collision course?

[Liep]

How does the system (without tehnical failure) allow an operator to send two trains on collision course?

This I can't understand either so I'll wait and see what they find out. But I've heard rumours that the dispatcher circumvented or disabled the safety system because there were delays, how and why he would be able to do that I can't understand either though.

[Tamas]

A German is assumed to follow the rules at all times, so there is no need for an automatic preventive mechanism. :duh:

[alfred russel]

A German is assumed to follow the rules at all times, so there is no need for an automatic preventive mechanism. :duh:

In these days of mass migration, I expect we will begin seeing more failures of these safety controls dependent on national stereotypes.

[Zanza]

He specifically gave the command to override the automatic safety system and gave the train conductor the signal to ignore a red light.

The state prosecutors assume that it was just a monumental error of judgement by the train dispatcher, no malice involved.

Never let a human do a robot's job...

[Liep]

How fast were the trains going? Passing a stop signal with permission usually involves driving much slower than normal, but I guess the oncoming train would still have been going with regular speed.

[Zanza]

Both were going at their regular speed of about 100 kph.