30 injured in train accident in Swiss Alps: police

GENEVA: At least 30 people were injured in a train accident Monday (Sep 11) at a station in the Swiss Alpine village of Andermatt, police said.

“No one is in critical condition,” a spokeswoman for the regional police in the Swiss canton of Uri.

Police initially said 27 had been injured in the accident.

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The accident happened shortly before midday as a train run by the Matterhorn-Gotthard rail company, made up of a locomotive and five carriages and carrying around 100 passengers, attempted a manoeuvre at Andermatt station.

The locomotive was supposed to move to a parallel track to move from the back of the train to the front, and allow the train to head back towards the Alpine resort of Disentis.

But a spokesman for the rail company told AFP something had gone wrong and the locomotive had slammed into the carriages.

He said the locomotive had been travelling at a speed of only 15 to 20 kilometres per hour (nine to 12 miles per hour), and there appeared to be very little material damage.

The regional police and the Swiss Transportation Safety Investigation Board have opened an investigation into the circumstances surrounding the accident.