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World|life|February 10, 2016 / 10:58 AM
At least 10 killed, 89 others injured in Germany train collision

AKIPRESS.COM - http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/thesunchronicle.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/b3/1b364738-d93d-5b0a-aa77-9214c69a27d0/56baa4671e539.image.jpgAt least ten people were killed and 89 others were injured Tuesday after two commuter trains collided head-on in southern Germany along a curve where an automatic safety system apparently failed to stop them, the transport minister said.

The trains crashed on a single track shortly before 7 a.m. (1 a.m. EST) near the spa town of Bad Aibling, approximately 35 miles southeast of Munich. The crash site is located in a densely wooded and hilly region near the river Mangfall, making rescue operations more challenging.

It took hours to reach some of the injured in the wreckage and authorities were still working at midday to remove the final body from the train.

"Once that is done then the investigators can begin their work," federal police spokesman Rainer Scharf told The Associated Press from the scene.

A statement from the trains' operator Bayerische Oberlandbahn, said both trains had partially derailed and were wedged into each other. Neither the operator nor authorities were able to address possible causes of the collision.

German Transport Minister Alexander Dobrint said the two trains were on a curve and it appears that neither had time to brake before they hit head-on.

"We need to determine immediately whether it was a technical problem or a human mistake," he said.

Dobrint said the stretch was fitted with a safety system designed to automatically stop trains to prevent such a crash and it's not clear why it didn't function. Black boxes recovered from the trains should provide more answers once analyzed.

It was not clear how fast the trains were traveling at the time of the crash but German rail operator Deutsche Bahn told the dpa news agency they were permitted to travel of speeds up to 80 mph on that stretch of track.

The rail line is commonly used by commuters heading to work in Munich, and would normally also carry children traveling to school, but they are currently on holiday, the dpa news agency reported.

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