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On a track like this at the marshalling yard, the girl climbed onto a wagon (symbol station)
Photo: FABIAN BIMMER / AP
A twelve-year-old girl was electrocuted while climbing on a parked railway wagon in a marshalling yard in Nuremberg and was seriously injured in the process.
The child suffered life-threatening burns, the police said.
According to the fire department, it was taken to a hospital for first aid on Thursday and then transferred by helicopter to a special clinic in Munich.
A witness had previously reported to the police because he heard a spark and a scream in the marshalling yard, as the police said.
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According to the fire brigade, it was an electrified track section with overhead lines.
"Due to the high voltage of 15,000 volts used in the overhead line, when the child approached the overhead line above the boarded wagon, there was a flashover by means of an electric arc," the fire department said.
The girl was then thrown from the wagon onto the track bed.
According to the information, a one-meter approach to the overhead line is enough to get an electric shock (read more about traction current here).
The police have taken over the investigation into the course of the accident.
mjm / dpa