What we know about the S-Bahn accident near Munich – and what we don't

Numerous people were injured in a train accident near Schäftlarn on Monday afternoon. A man lost his life. These facts are known so far.

Update from February 15, 7:10 a.m .: A total of 18 people were injured in the serious S-Bahn accident on the afternoon of February 14 near Schäftlarn, near Munich. Five of them were seriously injured, said police spokesman Andreas Franken late in the evening. There was also one fatality who, according to police, is said to be a 24-year-old Afghan man. 25 people were also treated as outpatients.

At the time of the collision at around 4.40 p.m. in the afternoon, a total of 95 people were on the two trains. Not all of them were able to free themselves from the wagons and had to be rescued by rescue workers. It was difficult to treat the injured because the scene of the accident was on an elevated railway embankment. There the two S-Bahn are wedged together.

After a serious S-Bahn accident near Schäftlarn: cause of the accident unclear – Deutsche Bahn sets up a hotline

The emergency services were on site well into the night. A total of around 680 members of the police, fire brigade, rescue services and technical relief organization were involved. Local companies, such as Igo Ruber’s bakery, also made a contribution and immediately supplied the emergency services with their exhausting work.

How the accident happened is still unclear and must now be determined. Eyewitnesses reported shortly after the accident that the driver had behaved strangely. A tricky situation had already arisen on the single-track section in August. In the event of irregularities on one-way sections, the drivers are dependent on radio communications. There may have been a misunderstanding here. However, further details are still unclear.

Due to the collision of the S-Bahn, the section between Höllriegelskreuth and Wolfratshausen is closed until further notice. The S-Bahn line S 7 in the direction of Wolfratshausen runs to Großhesselohe Isar valley station and turns there early. A rail replacement service with taxis between Wolfratshausen and Großhesselohe Isartalbahnhof with all stops along the way has been set up for you.

S-Bahn accident near Schäftlarn: Not the first incident on the S7 – Deutsche Bahn sets up an emergency hotline

Deutsche Bahn (DB), the operator of the Munich S-Bahn, expressed its regret on Monday and set up a telephone hotline (0800 3 111 111).

Update from February 14, 9:39 p.m .: The accident brings back bad memories. It was not until the beginning of August that a German and a Czech train collided on a single-track route in the Czech Republic. Three people died at the time, ten were seriously or life-threateningly injured. About two weeks later, a near-collision not far from the current accident site: According to media reports, two S-Bahn trains had run into each other near Icking,* but the train drivers were able to brake in time.

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And then there was the train accident in Bad Aibling on February 9, 2016. Twelve people died and 89 were injured. Due to human error, two trains on the Bavarian Oberlandbahn crashed into each other. A dispatcher had played with the mobile phone and had distracted it from giving false signals. He was sentenced to three and a half years in prison for involuntary manslaughter and was released two-thirds of the time.

First report from February 14, 9:03 p.m .: On Monday afternoon (February 14) there was a train accident on the S7 Munich – Wolfratshausen railway line *. Two S-Bahn trains collided there for unknown reasons.

At around 4:35 p.m., the two trains collided in the area of the Ebenhausen-Schäftlarn S-Bahn station. A train was levered off the tracks, but remained upright. Eyewitnesses report that the train previously showed unusual driving behavior and kept stopping.

Railway accident near Schäftlarn: One dead and 14 injured

The police have since released more information about the accident. The number of injured is continuously updated, most recently there was talk of around 14 injured people. One person also lost his life.

The S-Bahn line and the area around the accident site are currently closed*, for how long is currently not certain. It is currently necessary to examine the train occupants. At the time of the accident there were around 95 passengers on the trains. Some of the injured were taken to the Schäftlarn monastery.*

Train collision near Schäftlarn: Problems on the route in advance

So far, no statement has been made about the cause of the accident; it will now be the task of the public prosecutor’s office and the state agency for railway accident investigations to determine this. What is certain, however, is that there have been repeated disturbances at level crossings on the route during the day. In such cases, the signals are neutralized, the train drivers receive instructions from the dispatcher and drive “on command”. It is conceivable that there were misunderstandings during the vote.

The federal police, as well as about 100 police officers, helicopters and 47 fire engines were and are in action. A total of 200 emergency services are on site. (jv) *merkur.de and tz.de are offers from IPPEN.MEDIA

List of rubrics: © Matthias Balk/dpa