North Rhine-Westphalia: NRW Ministry of the Interior: freight train hits two children - one child dead

In Recklinghausen, a freight train hit two children.

North Rhine-Westphalia: NRW Ministry of the Interior: freight train hits two children - one child dead

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 on Thursday evening, according to the DPA news agency. The exact circumstances remained open. Details such as the age of the children were initially unclear.

The situation remained confusing for the time being. The police withheld further information. It is possible that not all relatives were informed.

The police had previously said that a freight train may have hit several people.

NRW Interior Minister Herbert Reul (CDU) drove to the scene of the fatal accident. "He is now getting an idea of ​​the situation on site and is speaking to the emergency services there," said a spokesman for the Interior Ministry of the DPA.

Numerous emergency services were still on site late Thursday evening. The area was cordoned off over a large area, as reported by a DPA reporter. In addition to around two dozen police officers, emergency chaplains were also on duty.

According to the fire department, 35 firefighters and rescue workers were deployed. "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 happened in Recklinghausen-Ost. 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. "Bild", "Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung" (WAZ) and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR) reported that they had been dragged along several hundred meters.

The route closure between Gladbeck-West and Recklinghausen main station continues after the train accident. "We do not yet have a forecast as to when the route will be free again," said a spokeswoman for Deutsche Bahn AG in Berlin. A bus is used as a rail replacement service between these two stations.

According to Deutsche Bahn, there are restrictions on regional transport on the S9, RE2 and RE42 train lines. Long-distance traffic is not affected.

Note: This article has been updated several times.

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