Train crash in southern Germany causes deaths, injuries

[webfact]

Train crash in southern Germany causes deaths, injuries

BERLIN (AP) — Police say several people have been killed or injured in an early morning train crash in southern Germany.

They say two trains were involved in the crash near Bad Aibling, in Bavaria. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured, but a spokeswoman for police in Upper Bavaria confirmed to German news agency dpa that there were deaths.

Dpa reported that one train derailed in the crash Tuesday morning, and several wagons overturned.

It said eight rescue helicopters were standing on a lawn near the entrance to the town of Bad Aibling and further rescue staff were on the way to the scene of the crash.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-02-09

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The Latest: at least 2 dead in train crash in Germany

BERLIN (AP) — The Latest on a train crash in Germany that has caused deaths and injuries (all times local):

8:55 a.m.

Police say at least two people have died and about 100 have been injured — 10 seriously — in a train crash in southern Germany.

German news agency dpa reported that two regional trains were involved in the crash Tuesday morning near Bad Aibling in Bavaria.

8:45 a.m.

Police say several people have been injured in an early morning train crash in southern Germany.

They say two trains were involved in the crash near Bad Aibling, in Bavaria. It was not immediately clear how many people were injured.

German news agency dpa reported that one train derailed in the crash Tuesday morning, and several wagons overturned.

Dpa reported that eight rescue helicopters were standing on a lawn near the entrance to the town of Bad Aibling and further rescue staff were on the way to the scene of the crash.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-02-09

[soalbundy]

I have read in the German news 9 dead and counting, 15 critical, 100 injured some badly

Edited February 9, 2016 by soalbundy

[webfact]

Train crash in Germany kills at least 10, injures 80
By MATTHIAS SCHRADER and KIRSTEN GRIESHABER

BAD AIBLING, Germany (AP) — 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.

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 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, adding that the two train drivers were thought to be among the dead and one person was still missing in the wreckage.


"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."

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.

Dobrindt, however, said it was too early to draw a definitive conclusion.

"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.

Black boxes from both trains had been recovered and are now being analyzed, which should show what went wrong, Dobrindt said.

"We need to determine immediately whether it was a technical problem or a human mistake," he said.

Authorities had initially reported 150 injured, but Sonntag later lowered that figure to 80. Seventeen had injuries considered serious, he said.

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.

"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.

"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.

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.

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.

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.
___

David Rising in Berlin and David McHugh in Frankfurt contributed to this report. Grieshaber reported from Berlin.


-- (c) Associated Press 2016-02-10

[webfact]

'Human error responsible' for deadly Bad Aibling train crash – sources



- German media, quoting sources close to investigation, cite human error as cause of collision
- At least 10 dead
- 81 injured, 18 in serious condition
- Two of three black boxes recovered
- No indication of braking before collision
- Drivers ‘probably didn’t see the train ahead until collision’

AIBLING: -- German media, quoting sources close to the investigation, are citing human error as the cause of the deadly Bad Aibling train collision.

The person responsible for signal changes apparently turned off an anti-collision system to perform a task manually. Known as the PZB 90, the system was installed on all German railtracks following a 2011 crash. This would usually force trains to brake in the event of a missed signal.

Authorities say at least 10 people have been killed in the head-on, high-speed collision between two commuter trains. Among the dead are one of the two train drivers and two ticket inspectors.

Some 81 people were injured, eighteen seriously. Police say one passenger is still missing , presumed dead.

Around 100 people, mainly commuters, were aboard, according to officials at the scene in the state of Bavaria.

All passengers have now been pulled from the wreckage.

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-02-10

[Lammbock]

11 dead, confirmed...sadly.

[soalbundy]

Horrible, it was near to where i used to live, very unusual incident,everything over there usually works like clockwork, seems to be human error,the automatic brake system in case of signal failure had been turned off

[snoop1130]

Human error may be to blame for Bavaria rail collision
Euronews

GERMANY -- Human error is at the centre of an investigation into a train crash that killed 10 people in southern Germany.

At least 80 others were injured when two trains collieded head-on at high speed in the Bavarian countryside.

An investigation is under way – state-owned Deutsche Bahn which is responsible for the track have said the signaling system had recently been checked leading to speculation of human error.
Company CEO Christian Schreyer expressed his shock at the accident: “None of us could have ever imagined that such a dramatic disaster could have happened. I mean, rail travel is the safest method of transportation that there is. We do all the emergency exercises, our people are trained, but nonetheless you can never be prepared for such a day.

In the nearby town of Bad Aibling residents attended a church service to say prayers for those affected.

The trains had been carrying about 100 passengers, mainly commuters. Police said more people would have been travelling if it had not been a holiday week.

Source: http://www.euronews.com/2016/02/10/human-error-may-be-to-blame-for-bavaria-rail-collision/

-- (c) Copyright Euronews 2016-02-10

[Emster23]

Of course it was human error. Humans designed the trains, ran the trains, etc. Should aliens and UFO's be blamed?

[Credo]

Of course it was human error. Humans designed the trains, ran the trains, etc. Should aliens and UFO's be blamed?

No, but gravity can cause a lot of problems at times as well.

I think in this case they are ruling out mechanical failures along with a few others.

[Srikcir]

Error goes beyond any braking issue.

The collision occurred on a section of single track. The system was designed with a dual track pass-by several km's before the point of collision. Commuters said that ordinarily the train STOPS on the bypass for about 5 minutes to allow the oncoming train to pass. But on that fateful day the train began to move after only 3 minutes prior to passage, thus putting both trains on the same track.

No monitoring system or system failure to show both trains on the same track?

No alarm that the train was released prior to a clear track?

No one in the stopped train watching for clearance?

So there may be both technical and human failures.