Heimenkirch bus accident

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The Heimenkirch bus accident was the collision of a post bus with a freight train in Bavaria in February 1966, in which seven people between the ages of 11 and 22 were killed.

Happening

On the morning of February 4, 1966, a post bus drove through the districts of Heimenkirch - as every working day - to bring schoolchildren to Lindenberg in particular . In the district of Riedhirsch he wanted to cross the tracks of the Allgäu Railway . The bus was occupied by a total of 38 people. At that moment, a freight train approached the level crossing at around 60 km / h , caught the bus and dragged it along for 200 meters. Seven people were killed and at least 25 people injured in the accident. First, the police and fire brigade tried to free the victims with axes and crowbars. A short time later, welding machines were ready for use and accelerated the liberation.

One of the victims' families later had a memorial cross attached to the scene of the accident .

responsibility

During the later investigations it turned out that at the time of the accident the barriers at the level crossing were open. The gatekeeper in charge later admitted that he had forgotten to close it. A passenger train drove through the level crossing in front of the freight train, and the guard opened the barrier. The freight train was delayed by 20 minutes, which was reported to the gatekeeper. The investigation led to the assumption that the guard forgot to report. An expert opinion concluded that the guard was insane for his job because he had forgotten to close the barriers several times in the past. The investigations against him were discontinued and henceforth directed against the superiors of the gatekeeper. However, no charges were brought and thus no verdict was ever given on the accident.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Entry in the section on the local history of the Heimenkirch community in the official information brochure, p. 11, PDF file, 1.6MB
  2. ↑ a b The day on which life stopped Special page for the 50th anniversary of the accident. West Allgäu, January 30, 2016.
  3. ↑ a b No Christmas without tears . All-in, online portal of the Allgäuer Zeitung , September 26, 2001
  4. ↑ Death came out of the fog. In: Der Allgäuer, February 5 or 7, 1966
  5. ^ Lindau: Bus versus train . Arbeiter-Zeitung , February 5, 1966, p. 7. Retrieved November 26, 2015
  6. ↑ The gatekeeper has sole responsibility. In: Der Allgäuer, February 8, 1966.

Coordinates: 47 ° 37 '26.6 "  N , 9 ° 55' 2.6"  E