SIX people have been killed and 16 others injured after a passenger train apparently hit falling cargo from a passing freight train on a bridge linking islands in central Denmark.
The victims were passengers travelling from Odense, on the central Danish island of Fyn, to Copenhagen when the accident took place at about 8am local time yesterday.
Police spokesman Lars Braemhoej said that while “we do not know precisely what caused the accident”, one possible cause was that cargo from a passing freight train fell off and hit the passenger train.
He added there was “considerable damage” on the passenger train.
Police declined to comment on a report from Denmark’s TV2 channel that a container had probably fallen off the cargo train.
Danish media initially reported that a tarpaulin on a freight train hit the passenger train, which was going in the opposite direction, prompting it to brake suddenly.
Photos from the scene show the freight train was carrying crates of beer, and the tarpaulin that covered the train was torn in pieces.
Kasper Elbjoern, spokesman for Danish brewery group Carlsberg, confirmed that a freight train transporting its cargo was involved in the accident.
Police said those hurt sustained light to moderate injuries.
Jesper Nielsen, who was on the passenger train, told TV2 the train “was out on the bridge when there was a huge ‘bang’ .... very quickly thereafter, the train braked”.
Prime Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen said: “Ordinary Danes on their way to work or heading home from the Christmas holidays have had their lives smashed.”
The accident took place on a road-and-rail bridge, part of the Storebaelt system of bridges and a tunnel linking Zealand and Funen islands.
The transport system was closed to cars overnight because of strong winds but trains could pass.
Road traffic resumed yesterday with a 50kph (31mph) speed limit.
Police urged passengers to contact next of kin to inform them of their safety and urged people not to share photos and videos of the accident.
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