Three Killed in German Train Derailment Near Riedlingen
A tragic train derailment in southwestern Germany claimed the lives of three people and left several others seriously injured on Sunday, according to a police statement. The regional passenger train, carrying approximately 100 passengers, derailed between the towns of Riedlingen and Munderkingen, close to Germany’s borders with France and Switzerland.
The incident occurred around 6:10 pm local time (12:10 am, 28 July, Bangladesh time) when two carriages left the tracks on a 90-kilometer (55-mile) route from Sigmaringen to Ulm. Images from the German news agency DPA showed the carriages largely intact but jackknifed into each other and rolled onto their sides in a forested area. Emergency responders, including firefighters and police, worked through the night to rescue passengers, with some reports indicating that search dogs were deployed to ensure no one remained trapped.
The cause of the derailment remains under investigation, though local authorities and prosecutors suggest heavy rainfall and a possible landslide triggered by an overflowing sewage shaft may have contributed. Baden-Württemberg Interior Minister Thomas Strobl noted, “There have been heavy rains here, so it cannot be ruled out that the heavy rain and a related landslide accident may have been the cause.”
German national rail operator Deutsche Bahn reported “many injured” and expressed condolences to the victims and their families. The company stated it was cooperating with authorities to determine the cause and has suspended traffic over a 40-kilometer stretch of the route. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz mourned the victims, offering his deepest sympathies to their families via a post on X and confirming close coordination with the interior and transport ministers to support emergency services.
The derailment, described as a “mass casualty incident” by the Reutlingen control center, underscores ongoing concerns about rail safety in extreme weather conditions, with further investigations expected to clarify the circumstances.
