NEED TO KNOW
- At least three people have died and multiple others are injured after a train carrying around 100 passengers derailed
- The tragedy took place in Germany on Sunday, July 27 — and officials now wonder if rain played a part
- “We mourn the victims,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in a statement
At least three people have died and multiple others are injured after a train carrying around 100 passengers derailed.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the AFP and local outlet DW, a regional express train traveling in the German state of Baden-Wüerttemberg partially derailed in a forest area at around 6:10 p.m. local time on Sunday, July 27.
The train was headed to Ulm, a German city, when the incident occurred in Riedlingen, a town of about 11,000 people, the outlets reported.
Approximately 50 people were injured, with 25 sustaining serious injuries, per the outlets, which cited a regional district fire chief.
In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for German train operator Deutsche Bahn confirmed “several fatalities and many injuries.” The company added that the train carriages derailed “for reasons that are still unclear.”
Authorities are currently investigating the circumstances surrounding the accident, the representative told PEOPLE.
“We therefore ask for your understanding that we cannot comment on further details at this time,” the company spokesperson added.
Storms passed through the area before the accident, and investigators are now looking into whether rain could have been a factor in the derailment. German media reported that a landslide stemming from the severe storms may have even caused the accident, the AFP reported.
“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,” Thomas Strobl, the interior minister of Baden- Württenberg, said, per the AP. “However, this is currently the subject of ongoing investigations.”
German media reported that helicopters arrived at the scene shortly after the accident to transport the injured to nearby hospitals.
Florian Gebhard, the head of trauma surgery at Ulm University Hospital, where the injured were taken, told German state broadcaster SWR that many involved in the crash “were under shock,” per DW.
“The injuries [were] of varying severity. Most of them suffered injuries to their extremities, spinal injuries and head injuries,” the hospital worker added.
Photos taken at the scene of the accident show yellow and gray train cars lying on their sides as firefighters and emergency personnel work to remove passengers.
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Train service has been suspended for the line, Deutsche Bahn told PEOPLE.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz commented on the derailment in a post on X, writing that he was working with local officials to support rescue efforts.
“The train accident in the Biberach district shocks me,” Merz wrote in German. “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.”
“We mourn the victims. I express my condolences to their relatives,” he added.
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