Germany: German Railway Officials Say That A Damaged Wheel Caused The Country's Worst Train Accident Since World War Two

Record ID: 3994

  • Title: Germany: German Railway Officials Say That A Damaged Wheel Caused The Country's Worst Train Accident Since World War Two
  • Date: 5th June 1998
  • Summary: German rescue workers toiling under floodlights found a new grim scene on June 5 of barely recognisable corpses crushed in the restaurant car of the train that crashed and killed more than 90 people. German railway officials said there was mounting evidence that a damaged wheel caused the country's worst train accident since World War Two. They cited possible material fatigue and did not rule out a deliberate act of sabotage. A spokesman for the official rescue committee told Reuters rescuers no longer expected to find survivors in the mangled wreck of the high-speed Inter City Express luxury train that derailed on June 3. Rescue workers struggled deep into the night using three huge cranes to lift chunks of a 200-tonne road bridge that collapsed on the train's carriages when it derailed and hurtled against the bridge at 200 kph (125 mph). The spokesman said that when the bodies had been recovered rescue operations would be suspended until morning because the site had become too dangerous as parts of the bridge were in danger of falling. The gruesome restaurant car discovery by the team of some 200 rescuers came at the final stage of the rescue operation. The rescuers said there were no more carriages left in the rubble. A total of about 1,200 rescuers were brought in at the peak of the operation. At least 93 people were killed in the crash.
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  • Location: GERMANY ESCHEDE
  • Reuters ID: LDL00128XU7V7
  • Aspect Ratio: 4:3
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  • Copyright Holder: Reuters Archive
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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