At
least five injured as trains collide near Zurich
Send a link to a friend
[February 20, 2015]
ZURICH (Reuters) - Two passenger
trains collided in Switzerland on Friday, injuring at least five people,
leaving carriages teetering on the tracks over a road and disrupting
commuter routes into Zurich.
|
An express train destined for Schaffhausen near the German border
sideswiped a commuter train at a switch in Rafz, a small town around
30 km (18 miles) from Zurich, at about 6:45 a.m. and then derailed,
Zurich cantonal police said.
Rail operator SBB said five people were injured, while police put
the number at six, adding the cause was being investigated.
SBB said in a statement it would provide an update on the
investigation next week.
Newspaper Berner Zeitung cited a spokeswoman for SBB as saying it
was trying to determine whether there were any parallels between
Friday's crash and a collision in Neuhausen, just north of Rafz, two
years ago.
In that incident, in January 2013, two commuter trains collided,
injuring 27 people. Prosecutors fined a train driver for jumping a
red light and causing the collision.
A 49-year-old Swiss train driver was seriously injured in Friday's
crash. Firefighters had to cut him from the cab of the express train
and he was flown to hospital by helicopter, police said.
[to top of second column] |
![](../images/ads/current/richardson_lda_040113.png)
Police said the others were lightly injured and taken to hospital
after the smash which left several carriages tilting at an angle,
including one on top of a road overpass, when the train came to a
halt.
The SBB website showed the rail operator had canceled some rail
services and re-routed inter-city trains between Zurich and
Stuttgart.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Editing by Alison Williams)
[© 2015 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2015 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. |