Defective S-Bahn triggers evacuation on Friedrichstrasse

Created: 2022-08-15Updated: 2022-08-15, 8:00 p.m

A blue light shines on the roof of a fire service vehicle.

© Robert Michael/dpa-Zentralbild/ZB/Symbolbild

Incident at Berlin's Friedrichstrasse station: Helpers move to a large-scale operation to evacuate hundreds of passengers.

Berlin – A defective S-Bahn triggered a major operation by the police, fire brigade and other helpers in central Berlin on Monday.

According to the federal police, 350 passengers had to be evacuated from three S-Bahn trains near Friedrichstrasse station.

According to a railway spokeswoman, one of the trains had come to a standstill shortly before the station due to a technical fault coming from the main station.

The other two then had to stop.

Because of the problem, train traffic on the route in central Berlin was initially stopped completely for more than an hour, and the electricity was switched off for safety reasons.

S-Bahn, regional trains and long-distance traffic were affected.

After the evacuation, in which 50 firefighters and around 20 federal police officers were involved, the trains slowly rolled back on the multi-track route, according to Deutsche Bahn.

The defective S-Bahn train blocked a track in the early evening, according to the federal police.

At the beginning of the operation, the fire brigade initially spoke of a "mass casualty incident" - in view of the summer heat in the trains and outdoors, circulatory problems were primarily feared among passengers.

In the end, the emergency services accounted for two people who were treated in an ambulance on site, but were then able to continue on their way.

According to information from the railway and the federal police, some passengers managed to get out of the defective S-Bahn on the open route and walk on the tracks towards the station before the evacuation operation.

That is illegal and dangerous.

dpa