Train accident near Garmisch: rail and chassis in focus when looking for causes – DB was probably planning renovations

Created: 06/07/2022, 09:07

By: Lukas Schierlinger, Felix Herz

After the tragic train accident with five dead near Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the cause is still unclear.

Meanwhile, the churches are planning a service.

• A

  serious train accident

  occurred in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Friday, June 3rd .

  A regional train derailed,

  five people died

  and dozens were injured.

• Under the direction of the Munich II public prosecutor's office, the Soko "Zug" is working to

  clarify the accident

  .

• The complicated clean

  -up work will continue on Monday, June 6th

  .

  In the early morning another wagon could be removed.

Update from June 6, 7.40 p.m .:

In the investigations into the cause of the fatal train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, the rails and chassis are the focus.

The Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann told Bayerischer Rundfunk on Monday that the cause of the accident was being "searched for with a focus on technical defects".

Wagon chassis have already been secured, “and it is also being considered at the moment to what extent individual rails or sleepers must be secured.

In any case, they are being meticulously examined and measured at the moment," said the minister.

According to a report in the newspaper "Die Welt", Deutsche Bahn is planning to carry out renovation work on the tracks on the accident route.

Accordingly, from June 25th to July 9th between Oberau and Garmisch-Partenkirchen, a nightly track position correction and rail renewal should take place.

In response to questions from the "world", Deutsche Bahn said that due to the ongoing investigations, it could not comment on this at the moment.

The regional train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Munich suddenly derailed shortly after departure on Friday.

Four women and a 14-year-old were killed, one person was still in mortal danger.

Among the fatalities were two women from Ukraine.

According to Herrmann, there is currently no error on the part of the driver.

But it is still being determined in all directions.

Train accident near Garmisch: THW ends its mission

Update from June 6th, 5 p.m.:

After the serious train accident near Garmisch, the emergency services of the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) ended their mission.

This is reported by the BR correspondent, Monika Haugg.

According to her statement, the cranes will be dismantled.

According to THW spokesman Frank Simon, around 500 volunteers have been helping at the accident site since the accident last Friday.

Update from June 6, 9:10 a.m.:

There is news about the rescue work at the scene of the accident: As a correspondent for Bavarian Radio reported on Twitter, the second half of the third wagon had just been removed.

Two more wagons are to follow today, writes Philip Kuntschner.

The locomotive, the control car and another wagon are to be put back on the rails and transported away via the tracks.

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Update from June 6th, 8.30 a.m

.: While the clean-up work and the removal of the destroyed wagons is progressing, the region is slowly starting to try to process what happened.

The Catholic and Protestant churches are planning a memorial service in Garmisch-Partenkirchen on June 11th.

A spokesman for the Archdiocese of Munich-Freising announced that further details will be announced in the course of the week.

And on Monday evening, the Catholic and Protestant churches invited to a joint ecumenical prayer in the parish church Maria Himmelfahrt in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

First report from June 6th, 6.30 a.m.:

Garmisch-Partenkirchen – With large, heavy equipment, the emergency services continue to work at the accident site of the train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

On Sunday evening (June 5), the work was interrupted, a police spokesman said.

It should continue on Monday.

The accident site was "secured, cordoned off and guarded," the spokesman said.

In addition to the clean-up work, the investigation is progressing.

The Soko "Zug" works under the direction of the Munich II public prosecutor's office. How did the accident with five dead come about?

Fatal train accident near Garmisch-Partenkirchen: salvage work is progressing

More than 40 people were injured on Friday.

The train was on its way from Garmisch-Partenkirchen towards Munich at lunchtime, and many schoolchildren were among the passengers.

The clean-up work is complicated - cranes hoist the derailed cars onto a street, then they are dismantled and transported away on low-loaders.

On Sunday, an excavator split the first car in half, and one half was removed from the scene of the accident.

The identification of the five fatalities was largely completed on Sunday.

According to the police, there are three women aged 32, 39 and 70 and, according to previous knowledge, a 51-year-old.

The fifth victim recovered on Saturday is a teenage boy.

Heavy train accident near Garmisch-Partenkirchen - pictures from the scene of the accident

View photo gallery

Garmisch: further traffic obstructions after the train accident - current information

Among other things, the locomotive was to be placed back on the track with the help of a special crane weighing 250 tons.

These and the remaining wagons should then be transported away by rail if possible.

Police said the work could take some time.

The railway also said it was not yet possible to estimate when the route would be cleared.

The work will also affect road traffic.

• Traffic in Sindelsdorf (Weilheim-Schongau district) is diverted from the A95 in the direction of Garmisch-Partenkirchen.

• Traffic from the Augsburg region is diverted from the federal highway 17 to Füssen in the direction of the Fernpass.

• Traffic from Mittenwald/Innsbruck is routed at Krün in the direction of Bundesstraße 11.

• However, access to the Passion Play in nearby Oberammergau is still possible.