‘Human Error’ Caused Fatal Germany Train Crash

Prosecutors in Germany say human error caused last week’s fatal, head-on train crash in Bavaria, and they have opened a criminal investigation of the train dispatcher on duty at the time.

Eleven people died and 80 others were injured when two commuter trains slammed into each other 60 kilometers southeast of Munich, near Bad Aibling, where the rail line has only a single track.

Chief prosecutor Wolfgang Giese said in Berlin Tuesday that investigators had determined that if the 39-year-old dispatcher «behaved according to the rules, the trains would not have collided.»

Giese told reporters there was no evidence that the dispatcher acted deliberately to cause the collision. The man, who was not identified, was described as an experienced railway worker.