German police say a landslide caused by heavy rain is the most likely cause of a train crash on Sunday evening that left three dead and 50 injured, 25 seriously.
About 100 people were on the regional train RE55 from Sigmaringen to Ulm in southwest Germany when the crash happened shortly after 6pm near Riedlingen, 90 minutes south of Stuttgart.
A preliminary investigation suggests the train raced into a mass of earth that collapsed on to the tracks. Like most of central Europe, the state of Baden-Württemberg had experienced heavy rain in recent days of up to 40 litres per square metre.
“The heavy rain caused a sewer to overflow in the area of the accident,” said local police in a statement. “The water triggered a landslide from the surrounding bushes in the direction of the track which, in turn, caused the derailment.”
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Among the three dead, local police said, were the train driver and a rail company employee.
Most of the seriously injured were flown by helicopter for treatment in nearby Ulm. The track will remain closed for further crash investigation for the foreseeable future.
After visiting the site, Baden-Württemberg’s prime minister Winfried Kretschmann said he was shocked by the accident and expressed his “heartfelt condolences to the relatives of the victims”.
