At least three people were confirmed dead and several others injured after a regional passenger train derailed in a wooded area near Riedlingen, Baden-Wuerttemberg, southwestern Germany.
The incident occurred at approximately 6:10 p.m. local time (1610 GMT), with about 100 passengers on board the ill-fated train, which was traveling from Sigmaringen to Ulm. Initial reports mistakenly cited four fatalities, but police later corrected the death toll to three. Authorities have yet to confirm the exact number or severity of injuries, though local tabloid Bild reported that up to 50 people may have been wounded.
German rail operator Deutsche Bahn said two carriages of the train derailed for “reasons yet unknown,” suspending rail traffic along a 40-kilometre stretch of the route. While investigations are ongoing, early reports from German media suggest that a landslide caused by torrential storms in the region may have led to the derailment.
Emergency response teams, including helicopters and firefighters, rushed to the scene. Footage showed train carriages overturned amid dense forest, as rescuers worked urgently to evacuate and treat passengers. Medical helicopters and doctors from nearby hospitals were quickly deployed.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz offered his condolences on social media and confirmed he was in contact with Interior and Transport Ministers, urging full support for the emergency response. The derailment once again casts a spotlight on Germany’s aging railway infrastructure, frequently criticized by passengers for chronic delays and technical failures.
The German government has pledged hundreds of billions of euros to revamp and modernize its rail network, though recent accidents highlight the urgent need for systemic upgrades.
This incident comes just three years after a deadly derailment near a Bavarian Alpine resort in June 2022, which killed four and injured dozens. The worst rail disaster in Germany’s history occurred in 1998, when a high-speed ICE train derailed in Eschede, Lower Saxony, killing 101 people.
