One killed as freight trains collide on Munich bridge

A freight collision on a Munich railway bridge turned an overnight maneuver into a fatal crash, sending two wagons about 5 meters, or 16 feet, down onto the street below. One person was killed, and police said the wreckage forced a shutdown of the road beneath the bridge while crews worked in the Milbertshofen district.

Police said the two freight trains collided while maneuvering on the bridge, but the cause was still unclear. The victim was not publicly identified by the German news agency dpa, and there were no reports of anyone else being hurt in the crash.

The wagons that fell were not carrying cargo, and police said there was no danger to the public. Even so, the crash left a railcar recovery scene spanning both the bridge and the street below, with clearing operations beginning in the morning. Munich police said the accident site could remain closed until Sunday as crews continued their work.

Deutsche Bahn said the line involved was used exclusively by freight trains, so regional and long-distance passenger services were not disrupted. The extent of the damage had not yet been estimated. But the crash underscored how a single freight failure can spill far beyond the rail sector, closing roads, tying up emergency crews and exposing how vulnerable bridge crossings can be when heavy rail traffic, shunting operations and aging infrastructure converge.