Train accident in Upper Bavaria: “stab in the heart”

The serious train accident with at least four deaths caused nationwide consternation. Prime Minister Söder spoke of a “stab in the heart” during a site visit. The Federal President and Chancellor also expressed their sympathy.

Federal and state politicians reacted with dismay to the serious train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen with at least four dead. Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier offered their condolences. “My thoughts are with the injured and all their relatives in these difficult hours. I would like to thank all the police and rescue services for their tireless and important work,” said Steinmeier.

Bavaria’s Prime Minister Markus Söder spoke of an “incomprehensible event” that gave a “stab in the heart”. “We very much hope that there will be no further deaths.” Many students rode the train. “You have to imagine it like this: it’s just before the holidays, there’s a relaxed atmosphere on the train, in one of the most beautiful regions Bavaria has – and then something like that happens and may change a life completely,” said Söder.

Federal Minister of Transport Volker Wissing and Bahn boss Richard Lutz also want to visit the scene of the accident today.

Cause of accident still unclear

The salvage work on the derailed wagons is difficult. Two attempts to lift overturned wagons failed. Bavaria’s Interior Minister Herrmann said it cannot be ruled out that there are still dead under the overturned wagons. “The wagon, which is completely scrapped, has to be lifted onto the adjacent federal highway, but so far this has not been possible.” A police spokesman said the wagons were “twisted and warped”. “That makes the rescue so difficult. You have to proceed step by step.”

Four fatalities have been confirmed so far. Children are not among them, according to Herrmann, they are all adult women. Three of the dead were found under a wagon, and a fourth died on the way to the hospital. “About seven people” are also missing, Herrmann said. At least 40 passengers were injured in the accident, three of them seriously.

Several regional train wagons on the way to Munich derailed on Friday, some fell over, slid down an embankment and ended up right next to a main road. It is still unclear how the accident happened. Experts have so far assumed a technical defect on the train or on the track, said a spokesman for the Bavarian Minister of Transport. Investigators meanwhile questioned the train driver, but said nothing about the content of the questioning.

Ecumenical commemoration in planning

Leading church officials had also expressed their dismay. He is now thinking first and foremost of the dead, the injured and the relatives, said the Bavarian Evangelical Bishop Heinrich Bedford-Strohm to the Evangelical Press Service epd. The misfortune hit them in a situation in which they were looking forward to the Pentecost weekend or two weeks of Pentecost holidays. This anticipation has now suddenly been interrupted.

Munich Archbishop Reinhard Marx said he was “shocked and sad that people were torn from midlife, killed or injured, some seriously, in this terrible accident”. The loss that the relatives of the deceased had to suffer was “difficult to bear and cannot be explained in words”.

According to epd information, the local communities and churches are already planning an ecumenical commemoration for relatives and emergency services. The initially planned date of June 11th is up for discussion again.

The railway group has set up a hotline for relatives.