THE DEATH TOLL from a train accident in Denmark, when a truck trailer appeared to blow off a cargo train in strong winds and hit a passenger train, has risen from six to eight, police have said.
“Police have now examined the train and found two more deceased,” police said in a statement.
Five women and three men were killed in the accident, which occurred in rush hour traffic yesterday morning on the Great Belt Bridge linking the islands of Zealand, where Copenhagen is located, and Funen.
Sixteen others were hurt, but none of them suffered life-threatening injuries.
Investigators said yesterday that the passenger train appeared to have struck an empty truck trailer that had blown off a cargo train travelling in the opposite direction on a different track.
Debris could be seen lying across the front of the passenger train.
Investigators said they did not yet know why or how the trailer fell off.
Passenger Heidi Langberg Zumbusch had just boarded the train and taken her seat when the accident happened.
“There was a loud crash and the windows started smashing onto our heads. We went flying down onto the floor, and then the train stopped,” she told Danish public broadcaster DR.
“We were lucky. The people in the carriage in front of us were not so lucky,” she said, adding that her fellow passengers told her they saw the side of that carriage had been ripped off.
Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen sent condolences to the families of the victims.
“Regular Danes on their way to work or on their way home after the holidays have had their lives torn apart. It’s deeply saddening. My thoughts are with the victims and their families,” he said.
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