Police officers are in Toppenstedt next to the excavator with which the accident happened. Picture: dpa
The accident happened while driving an excavator as part of a tent camp. A child and an adult died in the accident.
In an accident during an excursion with an excavator, a child and an adult died in Toppenstedt (Harburg district). Ten other children were injured on Saturday evening, some seriously, four of them had to be taken to clinics by helicopter, as a spokesman for the fire department told the German Press Agency.
The accident happened at a tent camp that fathers had organized with their children of kindergarten age. A group was driven “for amusement” by an excavator over a dirt road. The people were in a kind of lattice box that the wheel loader had lifted up.
The accident happened when the box – probably due to a technical defect – broke off and fell to the ground, said the spokesman for the fire brigade. The spokesman could not say whether children are in mortal danger.
After the accident, the vehicle was confiscated by the police for investigation. The driver was taken to a police station, police spokesman Jan Krüger said on Saturday evening. There would be “routine” investigations carried out for possible influence by alcohol or drugs. A drone documents the site from the air, said the spokesman. The work is still ongoing. They would drag on into the night.