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Train accident on Danish bridge kills six | Train accident on Danish bridge kills six |
(35 minutes later) | |
Six people have been killed and 16 injured in a train accident on the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark. | Six people have been killed and 16 injured in a train accident on the Great Belt Bridge in Denmark. |
Rail network officials said debris from a freight train - possibly a tarpaulin - hit a commuter train during a heavy storm, forcing it to brake suddenly. | Rail network officials said debris from a freight train - possibly a tarpaulin - hit a commuter train during a heavy storm, forcing it to brake suddenly. |
Rescuers are working to free around 100 passengers who remain trapped on board. | Rescuers are working to free around 100 passengers who remain trapped on board. |
The debris struck the commuter train - running from Odense to the capital Copenhagen - at about 07:35 local time (06:35 GMT). | The debris struck the commuter train - running from Odense to the capital Copenhagen - at about 07:35 local time (06:35 GMT). |
"Ordinary Danes on their way to work or home from Christmas holidays have had their lives broken," Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen tweeted, saying the accident had "shaken us all". | "Ordinary Danes on their way to work or home from Christmas holidays have had their lives broken," Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen tweeted, saying the accident had "shaken us all". |
Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven also tweeted to say he had spoken to Mr Rasmussen after the "terrible accident". | Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven also tweeted to say he had spoken to Mr Rasmussen after the "terrible accident". |
Images from the scene show heavy goods vehicle trailers on the freight train with their sides torn off. | Images from the scene show heavy goods vehicle trailers on the freight train with their sides torn off. |
Emergency services reportedly struggled in the bad weather to reach the passenger train, which came to a stop on the bridge. | Emergency services reportedly struggled in the bad weather to reach the passenger train, which came to a stop on the bridge. |
"There was a loud crash and the windows started smashing onto our heads," passenger Heidi Langberg Zumbusch told Danish broadcaster DR. "We flew down onto the floor, and then the train stopped." | "There was a loud crash and the windows started smashing onto our heads," passenger Heidi Langberg Zumbusch told Danish broadcaster DR. "We flew down onto the floor, and then the train stopped." |
Ms Zumbusch said fellow passengers told her the side of the carriage in front of theirs had been ripped off. | Ms Zumbusch said fellow passengers told her the side of the carriage in front of theirs had been ripped off. |
"We were lucky. The people in the carriage in front of us were not so lucky," she said. | "We were lucky. The people in the carriage in front of us were not so lucky," she said. |
There were 131 passengers and three crew members on board at the time of the accident. | There were 131 passengers and three crew members on board at the time of the accident. |
An emergency centre has been set up at the western end of the bridge in the town of Nyborg. | An emergency centre has been set up at the western end of the bridge in the town of Nyborg. |
The bridge is closed to both cars and trains towards the island of Funen, but car traffic toward Zealand has now reopened. | The bridge is closed to both cars and trains towards the island of Funen, but car traffic toward Zealand has now reopened. |
Tens of thousands of vehicles cross the bridge every day, and the storm had already caused several accidents on the road section earlier on Tuesday. | Tens of thousands of vehicles cross the bridge every day, and the storm had already caused several accidents on the road section earlier on Tuesday. |
Denmark's capital city Copenhagen is on the island of Zealand, while the city of Odense lies on Funen to the west. | Denmark's capital city Copenhagen is on the island of Zealand, while the city of Odense lies on Funen to the west. |
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