A cell phone translation prompt sets off a massive law enforcement response.
Train separations can be a tricky situation for many train riders - especially for those who don't speak German and possibly even more so for translation apps. A man from Iraq encountered such a problem while trying to communicate with a fellow passenger. Things took a turn for the worse. Afterwards, the train came to a complete stop.
His intention had been to learn about the location where his train was being divided, but his phone ended up announcing a train explosion: A translation mix-up by an Iraqi person asking for help on their device sparked a significant police response in Oberkotzau, Franconia. As a representative for the federal police in Selb said, a regional train carrying 80 passengers had to be evacuated on Monday evening. The 36-year-old individual had since been released after being taken into custody.
This took place on the line between Nuremberg and Hof. The Iraqi man, who resides in Munich, had tried to seek help from a woman on the train. As the federal police spokesperson explained, he had previously typed Arabic characters into a translator on his phone. The German translation led the woman to believe that the train was about to explode. She contacted the train emergency services who then alerted the police, causing the train to come to a halt in Oberkotzau.
All train passengers were then required to leave the train and explosives dogs were brought in to search it. The man surrendered without incident. "He didn't even know what was happening to him," the spokesperson remarked. During the interrogation, it was discovered that he had actually been trying to find out where the train was being separated and where he could switch trains. The man was familiar with the route already, and therefore knew to be cautious.
The reason behind the fatal mistranslation was initially unknown. It was speculated that he spoke a peculiar Kurdish dialect, which may have been the issue. However, it's also possible that he simply mistyped what he entered. This false alarm led to delays in train service. The passengers on the train were relocated using replacement services.
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The incident involving the miscommunication and subsequent police response occurred in Oberkotzau, a town in the Bavarian region of Franconia. Due to the international nature of the involved individual, this incident sparked international interest and discussions about the use of translation apps in such scenarios.
Source: www.ntv.de
