The day belongs to the mourners: a good week after the fatal train accident in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, there is an ecumenical memorial service.
The Catholic and Protestant churches will commemorate the victims of the Garmisch-Partenkirchen train accident with an ecumenical funeral service on Saturday afternoon.
The archbishop of Munich and Freising, Cardinal Reinhard Marx, and the evangelical regional bishop Christian Kopp jointly organize the service in the parish church Maria Himmelfahrt Partenkirchen. Relatives and friends, survivors of the accident as well as rescue and relief workers want to commemorate those who died.
Representatives of the state government and the railways are also expected. According to the ministry, Bavaria’s Interior Minister Joachim Herrmann (CSU) will take part on behalf of Prime Minister Markus Söder.
On the occasion of the service on Saturday, Söder ordered mourning flags to be displayed at all state service buildings in the Free State. He also asked communities, counties and districts to join him.
Five dead and 40 injured
Four women and a 13-year-old from the Garmisch-Partenkirchen area died in the accident on Friday last week. More than 40 people were injured, several seriously. One woman was last still in critical condition.
During the service, prayers are also to be recited in Ukrainian. Because among the dead are two 30 and 39-year-old mothers from Ukraine who had fled the war with their children. In addition to the 13-year-old, a 51-year-old from Wiesbaden and a 70-year-old woman from the Munich district died.
The regional train from Garmisch-Partenkirchen to Munich derailed around noon shortly after departure. On the last day before the Pentecost holidays, it was also occupied by many students. The police registered around 140 passengers.
investigations are ongoing
Even a week after the accident, the scene of the accident has not yet been fully released. According to the police, investigations and investigations are continuing south of the scene of the accident.
North of the scene of the accident, however, Deutsche Bahn has meanwhile begun to prepare for the salvage of the locomotive and one of the last wagons; this section has been cleared by investigators. The parts of the train were the last to stop. The tracks have to be repaired before they can be salvaged with a rail crane. These measures alone before the carriage and the locomotive are salvaged should take a few days.
Technical defect suspected
The almost 50 employees of the Soko “Zug” of the police continue to work at full speed to clarify the cause of the accident. Railway employees and passengers are questioned as witnesses. Investigators have already spoken to dozens of passengers. The public prosecutor’s office is investigating an initial suspicion of negligent homicide against three Deutsche Bahn employees.
When looking for the cause, the focus is on a technical defect. The chassis of the wagons that had already been recovered were secured, as were parts of rails and other track components. Particular attention is paid to this.
It is unclear when trains will be able to run again on the route. There has been speculation that this could drag on until or after the G7 summit in late June. However, the railway emphasized that a forecast on this is not yet possible. The G7 summit, chaired by Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD), is planned for June 26-28 at Elmau Castle near Garmisch-Partenkirchen.
