Ten killed and 50 injured

A criminal probe has begun after ten people were killed and nearly 50 injured, many of them seriously, after a head-on crash between a passenger and a freight train in Germany.

The regional passenger train was hurled from the tracks due to the force of the collision at Hordorf, five miles from the town of Oschersleben in the state of Saxony-Anhalt shortly after 10.20pm on Saturday evening.

Both trains were travelling at speed - the passenger train at close to 70 mph, the goods train at 50 mph.

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Ten people were killed and nearly 50 were injuried after the crash in Hordorf near Oschersleben, 

eastern Germany last night

 

 

The force of the collision caused the passenger train to derail and land on its side

Nine dead were all in the front compartment of the passenger train and died instantly, according to police, along with the passenger train driver. One of the victims was a female ticket collector.
Every available emergency services vehicle in the region was sent to the scene of the tragedy.
Children are reported to be among the dead and one of the injured is fighting for his life in hospital.
Prosecutors have begun a criminal investigation as to whether human error or a technical defect placed both trains on the same stretch of line.

So far it has been ascertained that there was maintenance work on the railway line and that green signals were on for both trains to proceed at the same time.
The HEX - HarzElbeExpress - passenger train was travelling from the city of Magdeburg to Halberstadt, formerly the last border town between East and West Germany.
The train was one of a number of privately operated passenger services in Germany but used German Railways track. The freight train, carrying lime, was also operated by a private company.
Snow and fog hampered rescue efforts at the scene, ruling out the use of helicopters to transfer the wounded to local hospitals.
The accident is the worst of its kind in Germany in a decade.
Local politicians were at the scene at first light on Sunday and Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin sent a message of condolence to the families of the victims.
 

Emergency workers watch as undertakers load two victims into a hearse at the scene of the crash

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