Second bad misfortune: six -year -old boy from Zug!

Second bad misfortune: six -year -old boy from Zug!

tragic events overshadowed the Austrian level crossings in the past few days. On Thursday, June 5, 2025, a six-year-old boy in Ottensheim (Urfahr-Umfahr-Umgeben district) was hit by a train while he ran his bike over the Linzer Strasse railway junction. The incident happened around 4 p.m. when a train driver was traveling from Linz towards Rottenegg. The boy, who was currently crossing the unrestricted intersection, was seriously injured. His father, who drove directly behind him with a bike and a trailer in which the younger sister was also sitting, could not prevent the collision. After the terrible misfortune, the boy was immediately taken to the hospital, while his father and the train driver were looked after by the crisis intervention team because they had suffered a heavy shock.

This incident is particularly tragic because it is already the second such accident within a few days. Another six -year -old boy in Eferding was already hit by a train in front of his mother and brother in Eferding on Monday. This accident also occurred at an unrestricted level crossing, which makes the situation all the more worrying. According to pnp.de the risk was favored by a number of factors, among other things by the often underestimated speed and missing safety precautions.

The security gap at level crossings

A study by the International Railway Association UIC shows alarming numbers: 27 % of all train accidents happen at level crossings, and the proportion of fatal accidents in these points is even 98 %. Stefan Pöting, Head of Railway Technology at TÜV Nord, emphasizes the need to reduce the number of serious accidents at level crossings. "The risk is often underestimated because soft trains are often noticed too late," explains Pöting. It states that technical safety devices such as barriers or warning lights can increase security, as a barrier would have to be actively bypassed to get through the track.

The tragedy of these accidents becomes all the more clear when you consider that every third accident happens at a level crossing from the point of view, while from the perspective of road traffic it is less than any hundredth. Pöting calls for more information about the dangers of level crossings to avoid such fatal accidents in the future. "Waiting is safer than taking the risk of causing an accident," he explains. An important piece of the puzzle to raise awareness of the dangers of level crossings.

parallel to the events in Germany

A similar drama also occurred in Berlin, where on Wednesday evening a 38-year-old woman with her four-year-old child was hit by an incoming ICE train on the tracks of the main train station. The woman died while the child had to be taken to a hospital with life -threatening injuries. The investigators assume a suicide, which adds an additional dimension of pain and despair for the tragedy. Around 50 rescue workers and numerous police officers were deployed after the emergency calls received around 6:20 p.m. These events illustrate the dangers to which people expose themselves to or near tracks.