The five victims of the train accident have been identified, and a teenage boy died when the carriages jumped off the rails. A technical defect is considered the probable cause, but the investigation is only just beginning.
With a special crane and heavy equipment following the serious train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen the scene of the accident to be cleared. Numerous helpers have been in action once more since Sunday morning. In addition, the investigation into the causes continues.
A separate group of investigators (Soko “Zug”) have been working on reconstructing the accident since Friday, the police said. The management lies with the public prosecutor’s office in Munich II. The investigators are supported by experts.
Five dead identified, including a teenager
The identification of the five fatalities was largely completed on Sunday. According to the police, there are three women aged 32, 39 and 70 and, according to previous knowledge, a 51-year-old. The fifth victim recovered on Saturday is a teenage boy. One of the more than 40 people injured is still in critical condition. The injured were taken to ten hospitals, including to Austria.
At the scene of the accident, a wagon should first be removed on Sunday. The car is one of three that overturned in the accident. On Saturday, emergency services had lifted him with cranes onto the federal highway 2 next to the track bed. A police spokesman said the wagon may have to be divided into two parts for transport. Then the other two overturned wagons should be recovered and transported away.
Special crane to lift locomotive
Among other things, the locomotive is to be placed back on the track with the help of a special crane weighing 250 tons. These and the remaining wagons should then be transported away by rail if possible. The work is likely to take some time, police said.
It is still unclear why the regional train jumped off the tracks on Friday followingnoon shortly following leaving for Munich. There was no collision with another vehicle. Federal Transport Minister Volker Wissing (FDP), who visited the scene of the accident with Deutsche Bahn boss Richard Lutz on Saturday, promised that the accident would be dealt with extensively. Bavaria’s Transport Minister Christian Bernreiter (CSU) said that according to the experts on the spot, a technical defect was “the most likely cause”.
Worry regarding storms
It was initially unclear on Sunday to what extent storms might hinder the clean-up work. The German Weather Service (DWD) predicted thunderstorms in the foothills of the Alps for the followingnoon and evening.
The work will continue to affect road traffic. Traffic in Sindelsdorf (district of Weilheim-Schongau) is diverted from the Autobahn 95 in the direction of Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Traffic from the Augsburg region is diverted from the federal highway 17 to Füssen in the direction of the Fernpass. Traffic from Mittenwald/Innsbruck is routed towards Bundesstraße 11 near Krün. Access to the Passion Play in nearby Oberammergau is still possible, it said.
(APA/dpa)
