A child dies in a train accident in Recklinghausen in the evening. Another is injured. According to reports, a freight train hit a group of people. There may be other victims.
In Recklinghausen, a freight train hit two children. One child was killed in the accident and the other was seriously injured, said a spokesman for the situation center in the North Rhine-Westphalian Ministry of the Interior in the evening. The exact circumstances are still open. Details such as the age of the children are currently unclear. The police are reluctant to provide more information. It is possible that not all relatives have been informed yet.
According to the fire department, 35 firefighters and rescue workers are on duty. “We searched the track bed,” said a spokesman for the fire department. Due to the darkness and the extent of the search area, a drone was used. The accident site is near a former freight yard. Recklinghausen is located in the northern Ruhr area.
According to initial media reports, the train caught a group of people. The media reported that they had been dragged along several hundred meters. According to RTL information, the children are said to have been on the tracks when a freight train suddenly drove up and hit them.
The railway line between Gladbeck and Recklinghausen main station was closed. There are restrictions on regional traffic on the S9, RE2 and RE42 train lines, said a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn. Long-distance traffic is not affected. The accident happened in Recklinghausen-Ost. A drone could be seen on TV images flying over the area. A WDR reporter reported that a search was apparently being made for other victims along the railway line.
