Two almost simultaneous derailments leave 15 injured in Switzerland

Fifteen people were injured in two train derailments that occurred within minutes of each other on Friday in northwest Swissthe Bern police reported.

At the time of the accidents, a strong storm was hitting the region.

MORE INFORMATION | Why Toblerone will no longer be able to use the iconic silhouette of the most famous mountain in Switzerland on the box of its chocolates

The first train derailed around 4:30 p.m. local time (2:30 p.m. GMT) between the cities of luscherz and good and the other, about twenty minutes later in the vicinity Buren zum Hofsome 40 km away, a police spokeswoman, Flurina Schenk, told AFP.

Police, medical and fire teams were still at the crash sites on Friday night, he added.

In the first derailment, which occurred on the line that surrounds the lake of good, “the rear of the train flipped to the right”explained the police spokeswoman.

In the second, nine adults and three children were injured, Magdalena Rast, spokeswoman for the cantonal police, told Swiss television, who shortly before announced a seriously injured person on Twitter.

According to the public transport company RBS, the second derailment could have been caused by hurricane-force winds that hit the Swiss country on Friday.

At the time of the accident, a measuring station in the nearby town of koppigen recorded a gust of 136 km/h, reported Meteonews.

A squall centered in southern England on Friday generated strong winds across parts of Europe, including Switzerland, according to MeteoSwiss, referring to the storm. Mathis.

A member of the train staff works at the site of a train derailment near the lake town of Luscherz, northwest of the capital Bern. (Photo: Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP) (FABRICE COFFRINI /)

The strongest gusts were generally accompanied by showers and thunderstorms.

MeteoSwiss He had warned in the morning that winds of between 80 and 110 km/h could blow in the plains and between 100 and 140 km/h in the mountains.

Swiss It has a very dense rail network with frequent services.

Although train accidents are not exceptional, they usually do not cause a large number of victims in the Alpine country.

The deadliest disaster in the history of Swiss railways occurred on June 14, 1891, when a bridge built by gustave eiffel collapsed under the weight of a train coming from basel. 73 people died in the accident.

And on September 12, 1982, in Pfäffikonnearly Zuricha train hit a coach that was going through a level crossing, killing 39 people.

CHECK HERE | How the 200-kilo nail head of Chavín arrived in Switzerland and was returned to Peru

Source: Elcomercio