Several deaths as train derails in south-western Germany

Several people were killed and many others injured after a passenger train derailed in south-western Germany on Sunday, security sources told dpa.

According to initial findings by the federal police in Stuttgart, the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg, some 100 people were on the derailed train. So far, the police are assuming at least three people have been injured, said a spokesman.

At least two carriages of a regional express train derailed at around 6:10 pm (1610 GMT) near the town of Riedlingen in Baden-Württemberg. There had been a storm there beforehand.

Video footage from the scene showed emergency services from the fire brigade and rescue service working on the derailed carriages to gain access to the passengers. Loud shouting could also be heard.

The footage showed several derailed carriages, with at least one overturned. Fallen trees are also visible at the accident site.

The Reutlingen control centre reported a so-called “mass casualty incident,” a term used by emergency services to describe a situation where a large number of injured people need to be treated.

Baden-Württemberg’s Interior Minister Thomas Strobl was making his way to the accident site on Sunday evening to gain an impression of the rescue operations, his spokesman said.

The federal police spokesman could not initially provide any information on the cause of the accident. The train was on its way from the town of Sigmaringen to city of Ulm, both in Baden-Württemberg.