Accident with seven dead - Five 19-year-olds among the victims

Charred vehicle wreckage on the street, a burned-out car wreck across the crash barrier: a devastating accident near Bad Langensalza in Thuringia kills seven people – five of them were 19 years old. An eight is in mortal danger. An expert will be on site on Sunday morning to shed light on the background of this dramatic evening.

After all, after such a devastating accident, many questions arise: How could it be that so many people lost their lives in a collision? Why did the cars burn out? And how did the accident happen?

According to the fire department, three were injured in addition to the dead, according to the police, one of them was in mortal danger. The condition of the injured was still unclear on Sunday morning. No further information was initially given about the identity of the victims. Late on Saturday afternoon, the three accident cars in the west of the Free State crashed into each other with great force. The accident happened in a long curve of the B247, the road has one lane in each direction. According to initial findings, one of the cars had hit oncoming traffic for an initially unclear reason and crashed into the two oncoming vehicles. Two of the cars burned out completely.

How violent the collision must have been could be read from the rubble: two of the vehicles were destroyed beyond recognition – one of the charred wrecks lay across the guardrail, the other remained standing on the road with its body shredded. The third car was overturned on the side of the road.

All victims died in their vehicles. According to police, the bodies could only be recovered after the flames had been extinguished. At times, residents in the vicinity were asked to keep windows and doors closed because of the toxic clouds of smoke.

Thuringia's Prime Minister Bodo Ramelow (left) was dismayed and wrote on Twitter: "I mourn the dead and feel for the relatives. So much life wiped out in seconds. The bewilderment remains.”

Interior Minister Georg Maier (SPD) thanked the assistants for their work under difficult conditions and spoke of images "that will have an impact for a long time to come". He was deeply shocked, Maier told the "Bild" newspaper. "My thoughts are with the seriously injured and the families of the dead."

Thuringia's Transport Minister Susanna Karawanskij (left) was also dismayed: "My deepest sympathy goes to the relatives of the victims and I wish the injured a speedy, full recovery." The causes of the accident would be investigated and the results evaluated precisely so that such serious accidents can be better prevented in the future could, said Karavansky. She announced talks with the project sponsor of the road "to investigate the criticism of the traffic space design".