Derailed German train 'probably hit landslide'

Investigators were combing through the wreckage on Monday after a train derailed and overturned in Germany on the weekend, with the loss of at least three lives.

Police already believe the incident on Sunday, near Riedlingen, 158 kilometers west of Munich in southwestern Germany, was caused by a landslide triggered by an overflowing drainage shaft that had been overwhelmed by heavy recent rain, but they want to know whether any other factors contributed to it, and whether any protective measures had failed.

The local police department said in a statement: "Two carriages of a regional express train derailed on the railway line between Sigmaringen and Ulm early Sunday evening. According to current investigations, three people were killed and other passengers were seriously injured."

Thomas Strobl, interior minister of the state of Baden-Wurttemberg, where the incident happened, said: "There have been heavy rains here, so it cannot be ruled out that the heavy rain and a related landslide accident may have been the cause. However, this is currently the subject of ongoing investigations."

The derailment happened at around 6:10 pm local time, according to the German news agency DPA International, which added that the driver of the train and another railway worker were thought to have been among the dead.

A further 41 people from the around 100 passengers on the train at the time sustained injuries, with 25 of them seriously injured, the local authorities added.

Germany's Chancellor Friedrich Merz wrote on the X social media platform that he had taken steps to ensure local rescue teams get all the help they need from the federal authorities.

"I am in close contact with the interior minister and the transport minister and have asked them to support the rescue forces with all available means," he wrote. "We mourn the victims. I express my condolences to their relatives."

Deutsche Bahn, the company that operated the train, added: "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the victims and everyone who now has to process this experience."

The state-owned company, which is Germany's second-largest railway operator, said the line would remain closed until further notice to facilitate the investigation and to allow time for the line to be repaired.

It added that a hub for families had been set up in a local community center, and that relatives are able to get additional information via a telephone hotline.

Charlotte Ziller, the local fire chief, told German newspaper Bild the investigation into the cause of the incident was continuing, as was the search for survivors in both the wreckage and the surrounding forest.

Richard Lutz, the CEO of Deutsche Bahn, and Patrick Schnieder, Germany's transport minister, both visited the crash site on Monday.

earle@mail.chinadailyuk.com