Train collision leaves two dead in Germany

BERLIN - The collision of a passenger and a freight train on Monday night in Germany has left two dead and several injured.

According to the German railway, Deutsche Bahn, the serious accident occurred when a regional passenger train crashed head-on into a standing freight train near Aichach railway station in Bavaria. The train conductor and one passenger were killed in the collision. Three further passengers were injured severely, while 11 passengers suffered light injuries.

In a first reaction in the immediate aftermath of the crash, a spokesperson for Deutsche Bahn told the press that the situation was "under control." Large numbers of police officers, firefighters and paramedics were rushed to the scene.

The cause of the accident and the speed at which the passenger train was travelling were still unknown on Tuesday. Deutsche Bahn emphasized that a comprehensive investigation was still ongoing and that it would take a considerable amount of time before an exact verdict would be reached. As a consequence, all connections between the towns of Friedberg and Radersdorf remain closed.

The night-time collision was the second fatal train accident to occur in Bavaria on Monday. Earlier, a car was hit by a travelling train on a railway crossing and dragged along the rails for hundreds of meters. The driver and a passenger in the car both died in the accident.