Serious accident on the A14: Three people lose their lives, numerous others are injured. Among them are members of a junior football team from Magdeburg.

The emergency services were presented with a terrifying picture: three people lost their lives in a serious accident involving several vehicles on Autobahn 14 near Halle on Thursday.

According to initial findings, 18 other people were injured, as the police announced in the evening. They also included players and coaches from a junior football team from Magdeburg. How exactly the accident happened in Saxony-Anhalt was initially unclear. According to a police spokeswoman, many of those involved were in shock. It is therefore difficult to obtain more precise information about the course of the accident.

Rear-end collision leads to collision

According to initial findings, a rear-end collision between the Halle-Trotha and Halle-Tornau junctions was the starting point for the collision in the late afternoon. A total of two cars and two vans were involved, it said. People were trapped in vehicles at the scene of the accident, and debris was scattered across the road. From a car that got into the embankment next to the road, only remnants could be seen. The front of a pickup truck was completely destroyed. Another crashed into a guardrail.

Numerous rescue workers, fire brigades and rescue helicopters were deployed. The injured were taken to nearby hospitals. According to initial findings, none of them were in danger of death, the spokeswoman said. The three fatally injured were all traveling in a car. The police initially gave no information on their identity. The relatives should be informed and cared for beforehand.

Junior soccer team also involved in accident

The SV Fortuna Magdeburg junior football team was also involved in the accident. The club announced this on Facebook in the evening. The team was on the way to a game in Merseburg (Saalekreis). All club members involved were taken to the hospital, it said. Nothing was initially known about the severity of the injuries.

Numerous other clubs and private users expressed their condolences on Facebook. “A terrible accident on the A14, which unfortunately also killed people. We wish all relatives a lot of strength in these difficult hours. And hopefully a speedy recovery for all those injured, »wrote, among other things, 1. FC Magdeburg on Twitter.

The motorway towards Dresden was completely closed until late at night due to the rescue and recovery work. It was initially unclear when the blocking could be lifted. Although the clean-up work progressed quickly, experts were called in to obtain more detailed information about what was happening.

According to the police, there was also an accident on the way to the scene of the accident, with three minor injuries. At Riebeckplatz in Halle, a fire engine collided with a car and overturned.