Bokholt-Hanredder and Frankfurt am Main: Two dead in accidents at level crossings

Two people have been killed and several injured in two incidents in northern and south-western Germany. A pedestrian was killed at a level crossing in Frankfurt am Main. A cyclist and a female motorist were also seriously injured, police said on Thursday night. The fire brigade had to free one person with hydraulic rescue equipment from the destroyed car.

The train was heading towards Frankfurt city centre when it passed the level crossing. The barriers to the crossing were open at the time, according to police.

The driver immediately initiated an emergency brake, police said. However, the pedestrian, cyclist and car were hit by the train. Passengers were not injured, the train driver suffered a shock and had to be treated in hospital. Police have launched an investigation into the cause of the accident and the Federal Police are also involved. The railway line was closed to train traffic.

As things stand, an accident is to be expected

In the early evening, an 85-year-old man was also struck and fatally injured by a regional train at an unrestricted level crossing northwest of Hamburg. The local man had pushed his bicycle over the tracks in Bokholt-Hanredder in Schleswig-Holstein on Thursday evening, a police spokesman said.

The driver of an approaching train then initiated an emergency brake – but the railcar caught the pensioner. The driver had no chance to prevent the collision, it said. Police believe it was an accident. Passengers on the train were taken on taxis and buses. Several media outlets previously reported.

There are repeated incidents in Germany at the more than 16,000 level crossings in Germany. According to adac, a total of 29 people were killed in 140 accidents in 2016.