Germany: Railway Crashes

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Canoe

Seven die in German railway crashes

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- At least seven people were killed and dozens injured in two separate accidents at rail crossings in southern Germany, one with a U.S. army truck and another with a car. A U.S. soldier was among those killed.

The driver of the U.S. army truck was among at least three people who died after a two-car commuter train smashed through the truck and burst into flames at a crossing near Vilseck, about 70 kilometres east of Nuremberg, in Bavaria.

The train engineer and a train passenger also were killed, police spokesman Norbert Hirschmann said.

A woman also riding in the truck, which was dragged 300 metres and broke into pieces, was seriously injured after jumping clear. Four injured train passengers were taken to the hospital. The remainder of the 24 train passengers were slightly hurt.

The U.S. military was withholding the name of the truck driver until family members could be notified, military spokesman Maj. Greg Burke said. The truck was on its way to training grounds in nearby Grafenwoehr.

The German railways said the crossing's gate was closed and a red-light signal indicating an oncoming train was working when the crash happened shortly after 8 a.m. local time.

In a separate crash farther south, also in Bavaria, a family of four died after a train rammed a car on a crossing near Donauwoerth, police said late Friday.

The driver appeared to have missed the warning signal and the passengers were killed instantly, police spokesman Konrad Faber said. That crossing wasn't equipped with gates.

Three train carriages were derailed, causing serious injuries to three more people.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), June 23, 2001


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