Langenweddingen level crossing disaster

Langenweddingen disaster

Photo of the disaster
Date	6 July 1967
Location	Near Magdeburg
Country	East Germany
Rail line	Magdeburg–Thale
Operator	Deutsche Reichsbahn (East Germany)
Type of incident	Level crossing accident
Cause	Gate left open; signalling error
Statistics
Trains	1
Deaths	94

The Langenweddingen rail disaster near Magdeburg in East Germany caused 94 deaths. It occurred on 6 July 1967 at the village of Langenweddingen (today part of the Sülzetal municipality) on the Magdeburg–Thale railway in the then East Germany when a bilevel train struck a fuel tanker, which exploded as a result of the collision, at a level crossing of Highway 81.

With an official death toll of 94 people, the disaster is considered the most serious accident in the postwar railway history of East Germany. It was also the deadliest German post-war railway accident until the Eschede train disaster of 1998, as well as one of the most disastrous accidents involving dangerous goods in German history.

The sequence of events resulting in the accident started with an overhanging Deutsche Post telegraph cable, which had expanded considerably in the seasonal heat, preventing the complete closure of the crossing gate. The gatekeeper opened the gate soon before the arrival of the train in order to free the snagged barrier. However, he neglected to change the signal to stop the oncoming Magdeburg - Thale P852 passenger train, with about 540 passengers on board.

The driver of a Minol tanker at the crossing mistook this as the opening of the barrier to road traffic and began to cross. Soon after 08:00, while crossing the track, the tanker was struck by the passenger train. The right buffer of the train sheared through the vehicle. Subsequently, some 15,000 litres of petroleum from the tanker was thrown against the train. The tank burst and the contents spread out mainly over the first two double-deck coaches of the train and the station premises. The leaking petroleum was also sprayed all over probably by steam that leaked after the collision and from the steam pipes of the locomotive. There was an explosion. The subsequent fire also destroyed the main railway station and several outbuildings around Langenweddingen.

Firemen from Magdeburg arrived at 08:32. As early as 08:47 the fire had been extinguished. However, heat caused by the fire, with temperatures of as much as 1,000 degrees Celsius, stopped the rescue workers from reaching the victims trapped in the train. The wagons could only be entered with protective clothing. The truck driver died of his injuries. The locomotive crew were also injured, but survived.