North Rhine-Westphalia
Another serious accident: a bus with a vocational school group crashed on the A44
Rescue from the ditch on the A44 near Werl
© Daniel Schröder / DPA
A trip to England ends with an accident in North Rhine-Westphalia for a group of vocational students. There are more than 20 injured. It is the second such incident on German motorways in just a few days.
After a bus accident with more than 20 injuries on Autobahn 44 in North Rhine-Westphalia, investigators are now clarifying how this happened for the second time in just a few days An accident could occur on German highways. On Friday night, a group of students from a vocational college had an accident on the way back from a trip to England. Their double-decker coach left the motorway near Werl, drove into the ditch and fell onto its side. According to police, 21 of the 60 occupants were injured and one person suffered serious injuries. No one’s life was in danger, it was said.
On Wednesday morning, a coach on the A9 near Leipzig left the road and fell onto its side – but with much worse consequences: four people were killed. As with the new accident in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to current knowledge, no other vehicles were involved. The investigation into the cause of the accident is still ongoing in both cases.
A44 near Werl: Long closure at night
According to the police, the students from the vocational college in Warburg on the border with Hesse who died in the accident are young adults. It was initially unclear whether only students or accompanying persons were injured. According to police, the driver of the bus was uninjured and escaped with horror despite the windshield being destroyed.
After the accident, the A44 was completely closed on one side from the Unna Ost exits to Werl. According to police, the closure is expected to last until around 9 a.m. The badly damaged bus had to be righted before it could be rescued. In addition to the fire department, a rescue helicopter was also on duty. The bus has now been recovered and transported away. The road in the direction of Kassel will be cleaned and reopened shortly, a police spokesman said early on Friday morning.
In the similar accident on Wednesday on the A9, a double-decker bus from the travel company Flixbus with 52 passengers and two drivers crashed into the grass verge and tipped over on its side. 4 people died, 6 were seriously injured and 29 were slightly injured. The driver is being investigated for negligent homicide and negligent bodily harm.
In recent years there have been repeated serious coach accidents in Germany. Nevertheless, buses are one of the relatively safe means of transport. According to accident statistics, they are comparatively rarely involved in traffic accidents with personal injuries.