2025 Hamburg train accident
| 2025 Hamburg train accident | |
|---|---|
 The railway crossing where the collision occurred in 2012 | |
| Details | |
| Date | 11 February 2025 c. 2:00 p.m. |
| Location | Rönneburg, Hamburg |
| Country | Germany |
| Operator | Deutsche Bahn |
| Incident type | Collision with road vehicle |
| Cause | Vehicle obstructing line |
| Statistics | |
| Trains | 1 |
| Vehicles | 1 |
| Passengers | 291 |
| Deaths | 1 |
| Injured | 26 |
The 2025 Hamburg train accident was a train collision which occurred on February 11, 2025, when an Intercity Express (ICE) train collided with a semi-truck at a level crossing in Hamburg's Rönneburg district in Germany. The incident resulted in one fatality and multiple injuries.[1][2]
Collision
The collision took place when Deutsche Bahn Intercity Express (ICE) train 613, en route to Bremen from Munich and carrying 291 passengers, struck a semi-truck owned by a rail manufacturer carrying railway tracks at the Reller level crossing.[3] According to Hamburger Abendblatt reports, the truck became trapped when the crossing barrier closed unexpectedly, leaving its rear section protruding onto the tracks.[4] According to passenger accounts, the train executed an emergency brake maneuver immediately before a loud impact occurred. The collision caused the truck's cargo of railroad tracks to scatter across the crash site, and caused windows in the front cars of the train to shatter.[1][2]
The collision resulted in one fatality and more than 26 injuries.[5] The director of the Research Center for Contemporary History in Hamburg, 55-year-old German historian Thomas Großbölting, seated in the train's fourth carriage, was killed as a result of the collision.[4] Emergency responders attempted to resuscitate the victim at the scene, but the individual succumbed to his injuries either during transport to or at the hospital. Twenty-six other individuals sustained injuries, with six people reported in serious condition.[1][2] The truck driver, identified as a 34-year-old Romanian national, escaped the vehicle moments before impact and survived unharmed.[2][4]
Responses
The Hamburg fire department dispatched around 80 emergency medical personnel to treat the injured, while local police arranged bus transportation and a rescue helicopter to evacuate uninjured passengers from the crash site. Emergency services established a triage area to assess and treat the injured.[1][6]
Following the collision, railway authorities temporarily closed the line between Hamburg-Harburg station and Maschen Yard in Lower Saxony, implementing diversions for other trains operating in the area for around 15 minutes.[1] By the morning of February 12, recovery crews had successfully removed the damaged train from the site, and authorities had reopened one track of the affected railway line.[2]
Federal Police initiated an investigation into the cause, noting that the inquiry would require extensive time to complete. The truck driver was later taken into custody and questioned by authorities as part of the investigation, and faced potential charges of "negligent homicide and dangerous interference with rail traffic". Reports indicated that the driver did not maintain a German residence permit when the incident occurred.[4]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e "Germany: Train collides with truck in Hamburg, killing 1 – DW – 02/11/2025". dw.com. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ a b c d e "One killed and 12 injured in German train crash". The Independent. 2025-02-12. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ Loxton, Rachel (February 11, 2025). "One dead after ICE train collides with lorry in Hamburg". The Local Germany. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
- ^ a b c d Wintle, Thomas (2025-02-12). "One dead, 26 injured after ICE train collides with truck near Hamburg". RailTech.com. Retrieved 2025-02-13.
- ^ "One dead, 26 injured after ICE train collides with truck near Hamburg". RailTech. February 12, 2025. Retrieved February 12, 2025.
- ^ "1 dead and 25 injured after a high-speed train and a truck collide in Germany". AP News. 2025-02-11. Retrieved 2025-02-13.