The accident happened around 6 p.m., but in the evening it was unclear how many people were injured. The Ministry of the Interior did not report the first details until around 11 p.m.
A serious accident occurred on a railway line in Recklinghausen on Thursday evening. A freight train caught several people and possibly dragged them several hundred meters, says a police spokeswoman at first.
For a long time it was unclear how many people were actually injured. The rescue workers only say they are looking for the tracks. A drone is used for this because a helicopter cannot take off due to the bad weather.
In the late evening, the Ministry of the Interior in North Rhine-Westphalia said: Two children had an accident, one was killed and one was seriously injured, says a spokesman for the situation center. The Ministry does not provide any information on the identity and age of the children. In addition, around 11 p.m. it is still not entirely clear whether other people may have been injured.
The accident happened around 6:12 p.m., reports the WDR with reference to the police. Apparently, the scene of the accident is about 500 meters from the main train station in Recklinghausen, a city of 170,000 in the northern Ruhr area.
The railway line and the streets in the area will be cordoned off after the accident. The railway line between Gladbeck and Recklinghausen main station is closed. There are restrictions in regional traffic, long-distance traffic is not affected.
NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) made his way to Recklinghausen late in the evening to find out about the situation on site. Several dozen firefighters, rescue workers and police officers are on duty at the scene of the accident.