BERLIN, June 05(ABC): A train derailed near a Bavarian Alpine resort in southern Germany, killing at least four people and injuring dozens in a region gearing up to host the G7 summit in late June.
Several carriages of the red-coloured local train were lying on their sides on a grassy area next to a highway.
Rescuers stood on the top-facing side of the carriages, using ladders to climb into the waggons to reach trapped passengers.
“In the serious train accident, as of 3:32 pm (1532 GMT), four people were fatally injured,” said police in a statement.
“Around 30 passengers were injured, 15 of them so seriously that they have had to be admitted to nearby hospitals,” they said, adding that a huge rescue operation was underway.
Bavaria s interior minister Joachim Herrmann said three of the victims were found dead, while a fourth succumbed to her injuries on the way to the hospital.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced shock at the accident and said his sympathy was with families of the victims.
The accident came as rail officials were nervously watching if a new nine-euro ($10) monthly public transport ticket valid across Germany would lead to packed trains over the bank holiday weekend.
Stefan Sonntag of Upper Bavaria s police force said the regional train was “very crowded and many people were using it, hence the high number of injured”.
School holidays were also starting from Saturday in the two southern German regions Baden-Wuerttemberg and Bavaria, raising fears children may count among the injured.