At least 11 people have died after two trains collided in Germany's Bavaria state. 20 others are reported to be seriously injured, including several in critical condition.
Image: Reuters/L. Barth
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One more person succumbed to his injuries in this week's train crash in Bad Aibling, bringing the death toll to 11 persons. Police identified the tenth dead person as a 38-year-old man from the Spree-Neisse region in Brandenburg. The other nine people were men between the ages of 24 and 59, all from the Bavarian regions of Rosenheim and Traunstein.
Police were still trying to figure out the reason behind the crash. "We have two aspects which we are investigating: the technical and the human side," a police spokesman told journalists. "If one were to conclude that there was no sign of technical failure, then the investigation would concentrate on the human aspect," he added.
Authorities were also looking into two black boxes that were unearthed from the area where the accident took place and search was on for a third black box, possibly hidden in the debris.
A rush-hour train collision in Bad Aibling, Bavaria
With train carriages ripped in two, 11 people dead and around 80 wounded, rescue workers in Bad Aibling are faced with a difficult task. Here are the images of the catastrophe.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel
Trains collide near Bad Aibling
Eleven people were killed Tuesday when two trains collided near the town of Bad Aibling. Eighty others have been injured.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Kneffel
Full extent of the damage
The front carriages of the trains were ripped in two after the vehicles collided while traveling at up to 100 kilometers per hour (60 mph). One of the trains derailed, and several carriages overturned.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/J. Reisner
Crash site in Bavaria
The trains collided near the town of Bad Aibling, southwest of Munich, the capital of the southern German state of Bavaria.
Cause of accident unclear
The two trains were scheduled to pass each other in Kolbermoor. Why they deviated from that plan is unclear. As the collision occurred on a bend, it is conceivable that the train drivers did not see each other beforehand.
Image: Reuters/M. Dalder
Rescue workers at the crash site
The Red Cross in Bavaria has gathered all the hands it could get to help crash victims as soon as possible. It took some time before all survivors could be freed from the wreckage.
Image: Reuters/M. Dalder
Victims airlifted to hospitals
Emergency services airlifted many of the wounded across the Mangfall river to take them to nearby hospitals.
Image: Reuters/M. Dalder
Wounded fighting for their lives
Many of the wounded are still fighting for their lives; rescue workers fear the number of casualties will rise.
Image: Reuters/M. Dalder
German ministers arrive at crash site
German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrindt (left) and Bavarian Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (center) arrive at the site.
Image: Reuters/M. Dalder
Crash during rush hour
The crash occurred during rush hour, when commuters travel to Munich. Many children would usually have been among the passengers, but schools are currently on holiday.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/U. Lein
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Rescue workers continued clearing the scene of the accident through Thursday. Police said the job had to be done carefully because the two trains' wedged portions were under a lot of tension and workers could be injured by projectiles from the debris.
The company's officials said that they first cleared the last parts of the two trains, which suffered the least damaged. Two cranes with a carrying capacity of 160 and 60 tons were employed for the purpose. According to the Deutsche Bahn, rescue work could last at least until Friday. The tracks would also need to be repaired once the space was cleared.
The accident occurred on Tuesday, when two regional trains with around 150 passengers collided head on in Bad Aibling in Upper Bavaria. The high-intensity collision caused the two trains to wedge into one another, making it extremely difficult for rescue workers to clear the site.
