Several people have been injured, and one has reportedly died, after a passenger train derailed in Denmark when it ‘hit a slurry taker’.
The train, which was carrying around 95 passengers, had been heading to Sonderborg from Copenhagen, via Fredericia, when it reportedly collided with a lorry at a level crossing between Tinglev and Kliplev.
It is still unclear how many people were injured and why the train derailed. Police have deployed both dogs and drones in their investigations, according to TV2, who have said that two carriages derailed in the incident.
‘We have set up a crisis team. We have an incident involving a train that apparently rammed a slurry tanker,’ Tony Bispeskov, head of information for the Danish state railway DSB, told TV2.
The South and South Jutland Police added: ‘We currently have information that one person has died,’ as per Jydske Vestkysten.
Danish railway channel Banedanmark also took to X to state: ‘A train derailment has occurred on the stretch between Tinglev and Kliplev after a train collided with a vehicle at a level crossing’.
DSB said following the incident it had halted all journeys between the towns of Kliplev and Tinglev, near Denmark’s border with Germany, for the rest of today and all of Saturday.
‘We are working on getting train buses to run on the route,’ DSB added.
Passengers and residents have been advised to follow updates from local authorities for information on safety and travel disruptions in the area.
Shocked residents described hearing and smelling the aftermath of the crash.
Johnny Balling Nielsen, a resident who was nearby when the incident took place, told local news site BT: ‘We heard a bang. Shortly after, we could smell a strange, metallic smell. We can hear all the sirens and what’s going on’.
Traffic from Flightradar shows that two medical helicopters from Aarhus passed the accident site and have since moved on towards a hospital in Flensburg.
According to a Jydske Vestkysten report, around several people, including around 20 children, have been escorted off of the train and away from the scene.
Many of them are ‘dirty’ and wrapped in fire blankets and bandages, a local reporter at the scene said. They added that several of them are able to walk themselves, while others are being carried by police officers.
The news site spoke to a couple who were on board the train, travelling to Grasten from Rodekro.
They said: ‘The train just overturned and then we had to climb out. We do not know what has happened’.
Police in the Southern Jutland region of Denmark said earlier on X: ‘We are present at a train accident with several injured people near Tinglev.
‘We need peace and quiet at the scene and unauthorised persons must stay away from the scene. We will announce further information via press releases as soon as possible,’ it added.