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Two dead as train hits US military transport truck

DPA/The Local
DPA/The Local - [email protected]
Two dead as train hits US military transport truck
The front end of the train was completely burned out by the time the fire was extinguished. Photo: DPA

A passenger train hit a US military truck that had got stuck on a crossing in Freihung, Bavaria on Thursday night, killing two people.

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The train hit the truck at "up to 140 km/h", smashing it between 300 and 400 metres along the track and killing the drivers of the train and the truck, aged 35 and 30 respectively.

Firefighters had to use large amounts of extinguishing foam to put out a blaze that broke out in both vehicles, burning out both cabins.

Four other people were brought to hospital by helicopter to be treated for injuries but later released, while twelve people were slightly hurt.

The train had been carrying a total of around 40 passengers.

Photo: DPA

Bild reported that the heavy transport truck had been carrying a US military vehicle.

"We don't yet know why the transporter truck was standing on the level crossing," a spokesman for the Oberpfalz regional police headquarters said.

The stretch of track is completely closed until the recovery operation can be completed.

SEE ALSO: US F16 fighter jet crashes in North Bavaria

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