Serious train accident in Saßmannshausen - Bad Laasphe - 32 injured
On Saturday morning around 9:30 a.m., a semi-trailer truck collided with a passenger train operated by the Kurhessen State Railway in Bad
Laasphe-Saßmannshausen near the "Hopfengarten" level crossing on Federal Highway 62. According to current police findings, a total of 32 people were injured in the collision.
The truck driver and the train conductor were trapped in their vehicles by the force of the collision. They initially had to be freed from their vehicles by rescue workers and were then both transported or flown to hospitals with serious injuries.
The level crossing is unguarded but equipped with a St. Andrew's cross and signaling.
A total of 30 people on the Kurhessen State Railway train were injured – in addition to the conductor. Fortunately, the vast majority of those injured sustained only minor injuries. According to current police information, three people traveling on the train were also seriously injured.
The force of the collision with the semi-trailer lifted the
railer vehicle from the tracks, and the truck's trailer was torn off the tractor-trailer.
The train was traveling from Bad Laasphe to
Erndtebrück, and the semi-trailer was traveling from Erndtebrück to Bad
Laasphe. The truck driver is a 55-year-old man from the Mansfeld-Südharz district in Saxony-Anhalt.
The B 62 is currently closed to road traffic in the area of the accident site. The railway line is also currently closed.
How long the closure measures will last is currently
unforeseeable.
The fire department, rescue service,
and other relief organizations are deployed in the area of the accident site with around 120 personnel.
Residents from the Federal Agency for Technical Relief (THW) are also deployed. Chaplains and support staff are caring for the injured and their families.
The district police department is deployed with a total of over 40 officers and is being supported by external police forces.
A police helicopter is also in operation. The traffic department of the Siegen-Wittgenstein district police department is
on site and tasked with reconstructing the exact course of events.
The latest news from the Siegerland region can be found at www.wirSiegen.de