Five killed, 44 injured after train derails in southern Germany – police

BERLIN (Reuters) – Emergency workers found another body under the rubble of a train that derailed in southern Germany on Friday, bringing the total number of fatalities to five, police said on Saturday.

Another 44 people were hurt in the derailment, tweeted local police, with some suffering from serious injuries.

After several failed attempts, cranes succeeded on Saturday in hoisting at least one carriage of the train which had rolled off the tracks. Regional and national politicians visited the site and expressed their shock.

Officials are still investigating the cause of the derailment in the picturesque mountainous region north of Garmisch-Partenkirchen in Bavaria.

There were many school students on board the train, the regional Muenchener Merkur newspaper reported, citing local paper the Garmisch-Partenkirchen Tagblatt.

Pictures on social media showed carriages of a double-decker regional train stuck between tree branches and rolled down an embankment, as well as people being carried away on stretchers and standing around on the tracks.

A major emergency services operation was still under way, police said, and the rail line was completely closed.Regional trains have seen higher passenger numbers since June 1, when a low-cost ticket allowing Germany-wide travel came into effect.

Reuters