FACTS CONCERNING THE ESCHEDE DISASTER

On 3 June 1998 a high-speed train (Inter City Express, ICE) collided w ith a bridge at a speed of 200 km/h. The bridge collapsed and the rear wagons of the train were pushed into it with the power of the rear en gine. The accident caused 101 deaths and 103 injuries. Four minutes af ter the accident the alarm was raised, and 16 minutes after the accide nt the first doctor was on the scene, arriving from Celle approx. 20 k m away. In the first 4 hours after the crash 1844 people from differen t organisations were at the site of the accident; 461 of these were am bulance personnel and paramedics. 39 aircraft (incl, helicopters and a rmy aircraft) were available at the scene. Many passengers with multip le injuries were stuck in the train and had to be rescued from the sev erely damaged wagons. Nevertheless all patients with one exception wer e on the way to hospitals or in the trauma centers 2 hours after accid ent. 95 passengers passed away on site. The casualties were distribute d among 22 hospitals, 2 of them had to be transferred to other hospita ls later on for medical reasons. This speaks for the correct selection of hospitals, There were many reasons for the quick rescue and the su ccess of Eschede, namely good weather conditions, the time of the acci dent (normal working day) the availability of rescue by air, the great number of doctors, ambulance personnel, paramedics and search and res cue teams on sire, as well as the excellent cooperation between the di fferent organisations, mainly fire brigades, police, army, border patr ol, technical assistance teams and search and rescue coordinators).