Sewage overflow believed to have caused landslide that led to deadly train derailment in Germany

Wagons of a derailed regional passenger train lie on a railroad line near Riedlingen, Germany, Monday, July 28, 2025. (Thomas Warnack/dpa via AP)

BERLIN — Investigators believe a landslide brought on by heavy rainfall likely caused a regional train to derail in southern Germany, killing three people and injuring 41 more.

More than 100 people were aboard the Deutsche Bahn train when at least two carriages derailed Sunday evening in a forested area near Riedlingen, about 158 kilometres west of Munich.

The train’s 32-year-old driver, a 36-year-old apprentice and a 70-year-old passenger were killed, police said Monday. Some of the 41 injured were seriously hurt.

Police said the downpours in the area caused a sewage shaft to overflow, likely triggering the landslide of an embankment where the derailment occurred.

There was no evidence of an external influence that could have caused the derailment, police said.

Photos from the scene showed parts of the train on its side as rescuers climbed atop the carriages.

“Such pictures shake us to the core,” Deutsche Bahn CEO Richard Lutz said Monday, offering his condolences to the victims’ families.

He pledged full support for the effort to clear up the cause.

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Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.

Stefanie Dazio, The Associated Press