42 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
42 lines
3.1 KiB
Markdown
---
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title: "Fatal German train crash caused by human error, prosecutor says"
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source: "https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSKCN0VP23L/"
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author:
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- "[[Reuters]]"
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published: 2016-02-17
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created: 2026-09-12
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description: "A head-on train collision in Bavaria a week ago that killed 11 people was the result of an error by a signal controller, the prosecutor in charge of investigating Germany's biggest train crash since 1998 said on Tuesday."
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tags:
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- "clippings"
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---
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A rescuer stands at the site of the crash of two trains near Bad Aibling in southwestern Germany, February 10, 2016. REUTERS/Lukas Barth Purchase Licensing Rights, opens new tab
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BERLIN (Reuters) - A head-on train collision in Bavaria a week ago that killed 11 people was the result of an error by a signal controller, the prosecutor in charge of investigating Germany's biggest train crash since 1998 said on Tuesday.
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"Our criminal investigations focus on human failure with catastrophic results, but not on causing the train crash with intent," Wolfgang Giese said during a news conference.
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Investigators excluded a technical error. The focus of their investigation is a 39-year-old signal controller who was in charge on the day of the crash one week ago, Giese said.
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"His behavior was not in line with his applicable guidelines as a signal controller," Giese added. "Had he behaved properly and dutifully, the train crash wouldn't have happened."
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Investigators said that the man, who completed his controller training in 1997, gave a special signal to one of the trains "which should not have been given", causing the two trains to collide on the one-way track during morning rush-hour.
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Realizing his mistake, he issued a distress signal but the warning didn't reach the train conductors.
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The man has been questioned and is being held at "a safe location" for his own protection. He faces possible charges of causing death through negligence.
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"He is not feeling well," Giese said of the man.
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The trains, carrying about 150 people in all, crashed at high speed on a 6-km (4-mile) stretch of track between the spa town of Bad Aibling and Kolbermoor, near the Austrian border.
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Rescue workers retrieved 10 dead from the wreckage and on Thursday another passenger died from his injuries. It was Germany's most fatal train crash since the derailment of a high speed train in 1998 killed 101 people.
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Another 24 passengers were severely injured in Tuesday's crash. About 60 suffered lighter injuries, the head of the police in nearby Rosenheim, Robert Kopp, said.
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The trains were operated by Meridian, a sub-division of French passenger transport firm Transdev, which is jointly owned by state-owned bank CDC and water and waste firm Veolia.
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State-owned Deutsche Bahn is responsible for the track, which has a speed limit of 100 km per hour.
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Reporting by Tina Bellon; Editing by Ruth Pitchford |