Terrible train accident in Switzerland. This morning, Monday 16 February, a train with dozens of passengers on board derailed between Goppenstein and Brig, in the canton of Valais. According to the RTS broadcaster, the line was closed to allow emergency services to intervene: according to initial information, several people were injured.
The accident in Switzerland
The derailment occurred shortly after 7 am, on the Frutigen-Brig line, between Goppenstein and Brig. The cause of the accident, as explained by the police and on the railway website, was an avalanche. As confirmed bythe Italian ambassador to Switzerland Gian Lorenzo Cornado, there are no Italians involved in the accident. As reported by the police, at least five people were injured. One of the injured was transported to Sion hospital. The other four were treated at the scene by emergency services and did not require hospitalization. All passengers were evacuated. A replacement postal bus service was established between Goppenstein and Gampel to allow them to continue their journey.
According to local media, the accident occurred near the Goppenstein railway station: around 80 passengers were traveling on board the train. The Swiss Federal Railways (FFS) company has confirmed that the cause of the derailment is due to the fall of an avalanche on the tracks: the interruption of the line between Frutigen-Brig will continue until tomorrow. As explained by the cantonal police in a post on
Last Thursday, an avalanche buried a section of the cantonal road that connects the Lötschental valley to the plain near Goppenstein. Road and car traffic on the Lötschberg was interrupted for several hours, but fortunately without accidents.