Candles, tears, ringing of bells and prayer: Thuringia mourns the seven fatalities in Bad Langensalza.
In an ecumenical prayer on Wednesday evening, several hundred people in and in front of the Divi Blasii Church in Mühlhausen commemorated the victims who lost their lives in the tragic collision over the weekend.
Five of them were only 19 years old.
Mühlhausen - The Protestant regional bishop Friedrich Kramer spoke of "the Passion of Bad Langensalza": "On the street suddenly death in the middle of life."
Despair, anger, paralysis and speechlessness remained after the terrible accident, Kramer said.
"We feel the great emptiness, the great loss, but we stand together," the regional bishop addressed words of comfort to the relatives and families in the full church.
Friends, first responders, firefighters and police officers also attended the service.
Young people lit a candle for each dead person and laid down stones.
After that, pastors were ready.
"We're here because we can't believe what happened," said the superintendent of the Mühlhausen Evangelical Church District, Andreas Piontek.
Thoughts revolved around the incomprehensible.
"We lack the words to express the pain and sadness."
The evening before, friends and families had gathered downtown in Mühlhausen to commemorate the victims.
Candles and flowers were laid and photos of the fatally injured were placed.
There is also a lot of interest on the internet.
In the serious traffic accident on Saturday on the Bad Langensalza bypass, a car ran into oncoming traffic and collided with two cars there.
These immediately caught fire and burned out.
Investigators now assume that a 34-year-old drove the accident car.
According to the public prosecutor's office, he did not have a driver's license at the time of the accident and was drunk.
The 34-year-old, who was only suspected to be a passenger, is still in mortal danger and has not yet been questioned.
It had previously been assumed that a 45-year-old was driving the car that caused the accident.
dpa