10 Dead, 100 Injured In Massive German Train Collision

10 people were killed and over 100 people were left injured after two passenger trains collided head on with each other on Tuesday, 9th February in Germany.

The accident took place during the morning rush hour about 7 AM, half way along a 6 km stretch between the spa town of Bad Aibling and Kolbermoor in Bavaria, near to the border with Austria, where one of the trains sliced into the other, ripping a hole in its side. Since the area is heavily wooded with a steep hill on one side and a river on the other side, therefore ambulances couldn’t reach there. As a result, helicopters were called in to airlift people to the nearest hospital.

Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the trains and track had been fitted with an automatic brake system that was introduced across Germany after 10 people died in 2011 near Magdeburg when a train driver drove through two red signals. Speaking about the Tuesday’s accident, he said, "It's one of the biggest accidents we have had in the last few years". Dobrindt further said that both trains on Tuesday must have been traveling at high speed entering a curve and the drivers had probably not seen each other. The minister also ensured that investigations were being made to find out whether the accident was a result of technical problem or human error.

Chancellor Angela Merkel sent her condolences to families of the victims."I trust that the authorities responsible will do everything they can to clear up how this accident could happen," she said in a statement. Bernd Rosenbusch, managing director of the Bavarian Oberland Bahn GmbH, which operates the trains, said "the accident was a huge shock to us. We do everything to help travelers, families and employees,"

The conditions of the two train operators were not detailed. One person who was travelling in the train at the time of the accident is still missing about whom the police said there is "little hope” of finding the person alive as 700 rescuers and volunteers look through the wreckage. Technical director Fabian Amini said, "We were quickly on the scene and were able to get an idea of the serious collision. We thank the emergency services and employees who have provided assistance as quickly.”

The Tuesday accident is being regarded as Germany’s worst rail accidents in recent times. The country's deadliest post-war accident happened in 1998, when a high-speed ICE train linking Munich and Hamburg derailed in the northern town of Eschede, killing 101 people and injuring 88.