Two dead, 20 injured as German train collides with tractor trailer

Two people were killed and 20 others injured Saturday when a passenger train collided with a tractor trailer carrying manure in northwest Germany, police said. The accident happened in the late morning, near Ibbenburen, about 150 kilometres (93 miles) west of Hanover, when the train, which was coming from the northwest city of Osnabruck, struck the trailer at a railway crossing. Of the 20 injured, three were in critical condition, said a local police spokesman without giving further details on the injured or the cause of the accident. After the collision, the train continued for 150 to 200 metres before stopping.

We got an emergency call at 11:31 a.m. today and rescue team, firefighters and psychologists from all over the region were activated to help. The train was very crowded.

Police spokesman Jochen Laschke

According to investigators on the scene, the trailer became detached from the tractor’s tow-bar and came to a stop on the tracks. The farmer tried to remove the trailer from the tracks but wasn’t successful because the barrier gate had closed. Investigators were still trying to find out how exactly the trailer became disconnected from the tractor. Everybody who was aboard the train at the time of the crash has now disembarked and the injured are being treated at the crash site or in hospital while others suffering from shock were receiving psychological care, police said.

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