The derailment occurred around 6:10 p.m. at the entrance to the village of Zell, in a wooded area and difficult to access. According to witnesses and experts cited by local media, the head of the train would have left the rails to the left, climbing an embankment of about five meters before crashing against trees. Several wagons of the Yellow and White Regionalexpress have overturned, littering the slope in the middle of the branches.
The Reutlingen rescue coordination center immediately sparked a “Massenanfall von Verletzten” type protocol, reserved for massive influx situations. Considerable means of intervention have been mobilized: Route B311, a major axis between ULM and Riedlingen, was invaded by emergency vehicles from all over the region, including the neighboring district of Alb-Donau. Several rescue helicopters have also been committed to access the area and evacuate the most serious wounded.
One hundred passengers
The injured train carried approximately one hundred passengers, specifies the federal police. On the scene, the atmosphere was tense, the rescue teams search the wagons and assist the wounded in conditions made difficult by the field. The causes of the accident are not yet known. No hypothesis has been confirmed at this stage, but degraded weather conditions may have played a role. Some media evoking the hypothesis of a landslide.
The Minister of the Interior of Baden-Wurtemberg, Thomas Strobl (CDU), went there at the end of the day. “”He wishes to get a precise idea of rescue operations “indicate the German media.
The German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said he was “deeply upset”, saying his “sympathy to the victims and their loved ones”.
