German train crash death toll rises to five
The carriages of a derailed regional train are seen early morning near the Bavarian town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, June 4, 2022. Vifogra/Haubner via REUTERS
BERLIN: Emergency workers found another body under the rubble of a train that derailed in southern Germany on Friday (Jun 3), bringing the total number of fatalities to five, police said on Saturday.
Another 44 people were hurt in the derailment, tweeted local police, with some suffering from serious injuries.
After several failed attempts, cranes succeeded on Saturday in hoisting at least one carriage of the train which had rolled off the tracks. Regional and national politicians visited the site and expressed their shock.
Officials are still investigating the cause of the derailment. The train had just left popular mountain resort Garmisch-Partenkirchen for the Bavarian state capital Munich when the accident took place in the Burgrain district.
The accident occurred just after midday on Friday as school holidays were starting in the two southern German regions Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria.
Police said the regional train was "very crowded" with about 140 people on board as a new nine-euro (US$10) monthly public transport ticket valid across Germany also boosted demand.
Federal transport minister Volker Wissing visited the site of the accident on Saturday, saying he was "very moved" to see the "dramatic" extent of the damage.
"We will continue to investigate and get to the bottom of what happened," he told reporters.
The head of the German rail company Deutsche Bahn, Richard Lutz, also at the scene of the crash, said he was "saddened" by the deaths and pledged a thorough probe.
