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LATEST: Four killed in Flixbus accident on German motorway

Four people were killed and around 35 injured when a bus overturned on a German motorway near Leipzig on Wednesday, police said.

Published: 27 March 2024 12:53 CET
Updated: 27 March 2024 14:23 CET
wrecked flixbus
Emergency personnel works atop of a damaged bus on the A9 highway, at the scene of the accident on March 27, 2024 in Schkeuditz, near Leipzig. (Photo by Jens Schlueter / AFP)

The bus came off the A9 motorway in the morning between Wiedemar and the Schkeuditzer Kreuz junction.

Police had earlier announced the death of five people in the accident, but revised the toll in the evening. One person initially reported dead is in a critical condition, police said in a press statement Wednesday evening.

They said 29 passengers were slightly injured and six were in serious condition.

Emergency services attended to the injured at the scene and the motorway was closed in both directions, German authorities said. The A9 motorway is an important north-south route between Berlin and Munich.

The bus, which belonged to German travel company Flixbus, was on its way from Berlin to Zurich. There were 52 passengers and two drivers on board, the budget operator said.

“The exact circumstances of the accident are not yet known,” Flixbus said in a statement.

“We are of course working closely with the local authorities and the emergency services on site and will do everything in our power to clarify the cause of the accident quickly and completely,” it said.

The two drivers both survived, Flixbus added.

Photos showed the bus on its side, having apparently ploughed into trees on the side of the road.

There were no indications that any other vehicles were involved in the crash, according to the police.

In recent years, there have been a number of serious coach accidents. Nevertheless, buses are one of the safest means of transport comparatively. According to accident statistics, they are rarely involved in traffic accidents resulting in personal injury.

Flixbus, which runs long distance domestic and international bus services through Germany, has previously been involved in several fatal traffic accidents. 

Last fall, one passenger died and 20 were injured when a bus overturned in Austria. 

Another Flixbus crashed on the same stretch of motorway in May 2019. In that accident involving a bus travelling from Berlin to Munich, one person was killed and more than 60 injured, seven of them seriously.

READ ALSO: One dead and dozens injured after Flixbus overturns near Leipzig

Emergency response efforts

The bus was righted at noon with the help of harnesses, allowing emergency response persons to be able to rescue further occupants. The event was fenced off by mobile privacy screens.

Hospitals in the area prepared for a large-scale operation. The emergency room is alerted and operating rooms and diagnostic rooms are being prepared and maintained, a spokesman for the Deaconess Hospital in Leipzig told DPA.

In addition, the control centre has been informed of the capacities available for the admission of patients.

Saxony’s Transport Minister Martin Dulig expressed dismay: “My thoughts are with the relatives of the victims and injured. I would like to thank the many emergency services on site who provide quick assistance.”

German Transport Minister Volker Wissing said he was “shocked” by the accident. “Our thoughts are with the families of the victims and, of course, with all those affected, and we wish the injured a speedy recovery,” he told Welt TV.

With reporting by DPA.

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BERLIN

Warning of toxic smoke after fire breaks out at Berlin factory

More than 180 firefighters wearing protective suits were on Friday tackling a major blaze at a metal technology firm in Berlin's Lichterfelde area as authorities warned of toxic smoke.

Published: 3 May 2024 16:35 CEST
Updated: 3 May 2024 18:08 CEST
Warning of toxic smoke after fire breaks out at Berlin factory

The blaze broke out in the first floor of metal technology factory ‘Diehl Metal Applications’ on the Stichkanal in Lichterfelde, south-west Berlin around 10:30 am.

On Friday afternoon, a fire brigade spokesperson said an area of over 2,000 square metres was on fire in the four-storey building.

As of 5 pm, the fire was reportedly still not under control.

According to the spokesman, the fire had spread to the roof, with parts of the building collapsing.

As the company also stores and processes chemicals in various quantities, there are concerns over harmful fumes in the smoke. 

“We can confirm that chemicals are also burning in the building,” said the fire service. “Sulphuric acid and copper cyanide were stored there. There is a risk of hydrogen cyanide forming and rising into the air with the smoke.”

Hydrogen cyanide is a highly toxic substance.

The Berlin state government said that residents “in the affected areas of the toxic fumes caused by the fire” were warned through the NINA warning app at midday.

People walk in the area near the fire in Berlin on Friday. Residents have been urged to stay inside and keep their windows closed.

People walk in the area near the fire in Berlin on Friday. Residents have been urged to stay inside and keep their windows closed. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

The Berlin fire department also said on X that people in a large area of Berlin and the outskirts, shown on the map in this tweet, should keep their windows and doors closed, turn off air conditioning and avoid smoky areas. People have also been asked to avoid the area. It includes a large part of the Grunewald forest. 

In the immediate vicinity, hazardous substances had been measured. According to a fire and rescue spokesperson, no injuries have been reported. 

A spokesman for Diehl Metall, to which the plant belongs, said on request that the chemicals mentioned were also only kept in small quantities at the plant.

According to the Diehl spokesman, the location is used for electroplating parts for the automotive industry. The Diehl Group is a large arms company; however, no armaments were produced at the Berlin plant, Nitz said.

Emergency response authorities requested the help of the in-house fire brigade from the firm Bayer, which is familiar with fighting against chemical fires, Berlin newspaper Tagesspeigel reported. 

Which areas are most affected?

Pupils and teachers from nearby schools have been sent home as a precaution, while several shops around the site have closed. 

On Friday afternoon, a warning message popped up on many mobile phones with a shrill sound, according to which there is “extreme danger”.

“After evaluating the weather conditions and the corresponding wind direction, the flue gases move from the scene of the incident in a northerly direction,” the fire department told the German Press Agency (DPA).

Flames seen at the fire in Berlin's Lichterfelde on Friday.

Flames seen at the fire in Berlin’s Lichterfelde on Friday. Shops around the area closed. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Christoph Soeder

According to the fire department spokesman, however, it was not initially clear at what distance the smoke could still be hazardous to health.

Parents of students at the Fichtenberg-Gymnasium in Steglitz received an e-mail stating that classes had been stopped and all students had been sent home. However, the local Abitur or end of school leaving exams continued with the windows closed.

Surrounding roads were closed while flames leapt into the sky, according to a DPA reporter on site.

A neighbouring supermarket was completely enveloped in white smoke. The surrounding area is a mixture of commercial area, allotments, housing estates and shopping centre. According to eyewitnesses, the smoke appeared to be heading north.

The fire department published a map on which the affected areas are marked. Parts of Spandau, Steglitz-Zehlendorf, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf and Reinickendorf, among others, can be seen. People should avoid the affected area and drive around it as much as possible, the fire department suggested. Even if no smoke is visible, windows and doors should remain closed and ventilation and air conditioning systems should be switched off, it said.

In the immediate vicinity of the fire, the police made announcements with a megaphone and called on people to leave the streets, go home and keep windows closed.

The cause of the fire has not yet been established. 

With reporting by DPA, Paul Krantz and Rachel Loxton.

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