Germany: 3 killed, several injured as passenger train derails, here's what we know so far

At least three people were killed and others seriously injured on Sunday when a regional passenger train derailed in southern Germany, authorities said. Federal and local police said the cause of the crash near Riedlingen remained under investigation. It was not immediately clear how many people had been injured. Roughly 100 people were on board the train at the time of the fatal crash. At least two carriages derailed in a forested area around 6:10 pm local time, the Germany news agency dpa reported.

Storm in area shortly before crash
Photos from the scene of the crash showed parts of the train on its side as rescuers climbed atop the carriages. The crash happened near the town of Riedlingen, roughly 158 kilometers west of Munich city. Details about what caused the derailment were not immediately available. Media reports say that there had been a storm in the area shortly before the accident took place.

German Chancellor mourns victims
In a post on X, German Chancellor Freidrich Merz said he "mourn(ed) the victims" and offered his "deepest sympathy" to their families. He added that he was in close contact with the country's interior and transport ministers to monitor the situation. Deutsche Bahn, Germany’s national railway operator, said in a statement that the train was on a 90 km route from Sigmaringen and Ulm when the incident occurred. "Our thoughts and sympathies are with the victims and everyone who now has to process this experience," it said in an X post.

(With inputs from AP/PTI).