Firefighter and Passenger Killed as Long-Distance Train Derails in Germany During Severe Flooding

Frankfurt, Germany experienced severe flooding, high river levels, and heavy rain which resulted in the tragic death of a firefighter and disturbances in train travel on Sunday.

The firefighter lost his life when an inflatable watercraft carrying him and three others capsized while they were trying to rescue residents in the town of Pfaffenhofen, situated on the Ilm River in southern Bavaria, as reported by the DPA news agency.

Furthermore, a long-distance train veered off its tracks after the ground beneath a portion of the track collapsed near Schwaebisch Gmund, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) east of Stuttgart, late on Saturday. Thankfully, all 185 passengers on board were unharmed.

Deutsche Bahn, the German rail operator, issued warnings of significant cancellations and delays due to the incident and assured customers that deferred trips would still be valid. Services on various routes, including those connecting Munich to Berlin, Stuttgart, and Zurich in Switzerland, were disrupted.