Switzerland: Landslide causes train to derail

Two carriages were left hanging over a steep ravine

A train derailment occurred in southeastern Switzerland, in what police describe as a “serious” accident.

As evidenced by the photos published by Swiss media, two carriages were left hanging over a steep ravine following a horrific derailment, which occurred when a train travelling from Chur to St. Moritz made an emergency stop to avoid a landslide.

Local authorities report that several people have been injured. However, their number has not been yet specified.

Rescue teams rushed to the area and rescuers tried to reach those trapped in the cars dangling in mid air, in order to move them to the hospital.

Police spokesman Daniel Zinsli said that the incident occurred at about 13:00 local time and said it was difficult to get to the area by road. Four helicopters are at the scene, while the fire brigade, police and ambulance crews are trying to get there.

“This summer we have had a number of landslides due to such heavy rainfall we experience in July,” Arthur Sandri, the head of the Federal Department for Landslides, Avalanches and Forestry, told ’20 minutes’ newspaper, adding that “the large amount of water saturated the soil making it much heavier and it eventually could not take the pressure.”

treno-2

treno-01

treno-02

treno-03

treno-4

treno-5

treno-6

treno-05

treno-1