What happened?
On Monday afternoon at around 4:35 p.m. there was a serious S-Bahn accident in Schäftlarn near Munich. Two trains collided head-on on the single-track route. The bang could be heard from afar, and a train derailed.
How many victims are there?
A 24-year-old passenger died in the accident, police said on Monday evening. 18 people were taken to the hospital. Five of them are seriously injured, including the two engine drivers. The injured are not in mortal danger. In addition, 25 people had to be treated on an outpatient basis. A total of 95 people were on the trains.
Where did the accident happen?
The two trains collided in the area of the Ebenhausen-Schäftlarn station, so they drove at reduced speed. Otherwise there might have been more dead and injured. The rails are single track at the accident site. Ebenhausen is a place south of Munich, the train station is on the S7 route to Wolfratshausen.
How is the situation on site?
The morning after the accident, the S-Bahn line is still closed, and a rail replacement bus service has been set up. The emergency services prepared the rescue and secured the trains late into the night. An expert from the railway safety office is currently on site, says Wolfgang Hauner, press spokesman for the Federal Police Süddeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday morning. The salvage work was therefore interrupted. It is not clear how long the preservation of evidence will take, only then will the work continue. The federal highway 11, which runs next to the tracks, is still closed. Traffic will be diverted.
How did the rescue operation go?
On the evening of the accident, around 680 helpers from the police, fire brigade, rescue services and technical relief organization were on duty. The accident site is elevated on a railway embankment, which made work and the recovery of the jammed trains more difficult. The emergency services had to free a trapped man and help some people out of the trains. Some passengers were able to get out of the carriages themselves. Passengers and relatives were looked after near the scene of the accident.
What is the cause of the accident?
There are still many unanswered questions. One S-Bahn was in the direction of Munich, the other in the direction of Wolfratshausen. Why were the two trains running on the track at the same time?
Eyewitnesses reported to the media that the train, which was heading towards Wolfratshausen, stopped several times during the journey. Apparently he was running late.
The federal police and the Munich traffic police took up the investigation together in the evening. The Munich public prosecutor ordered the first reports on site. A police spokesman said Süddeutsche Zeitung on Tuesday morning, logs are currently being read out. It will probably be a while before there is any knowledge. Further information on the cause of the accident is not expected on Tuesday.
Has there ever been a similar accident?
A few days ago, the Bad Aibling train accident was celebrated for the sixth time. Twelve people died and 84 were injured when two Meridian trains collided head-on. It was one of the worst train accidents in Bavaria’s history. At that time, the route was single-track, as in the case of the S-Bahn accident on Monday. The reason was human error: A dispatcher was distracted because he was playing with his mobile phone and then sent false signals.
A dangerous incident had already occurred on the S7 route last August. At that time, two S-Bahn trains approached each other on the single-track line near Icking, just a few kilometers from Schäftlarn. The train drivers noticed this and, since the trains were moving slowly, were able to brake just in time.