Fire department has to evacuate overheated suburban train
A Mainz S-Bahn comes to a standstill in the middle of a tunnel. This results in several emergency calls to the fire department. Passengers are suffering under the heat, one person collapses. Dozens of emergency responders rush in and evacuate the train.
More than 200 people were safely evacuated from an overheated S-Bahn on a Friday evening after it had been stuck in a tunnel in Mainz for over an hour. According to the emergency responders, a woman had called in and reported that the S-Bahn she was sitting in had been standing still in the tunnel for the past hour and a half. It was stuffy and she was feeling unwell. More and more passengers reported the same issue.
"When a call came in that someone had collapsed in the train, the track blocking of all tracks in the two tunnels at the railway was requested and firefighters and paramedics were sent to the North portal, the tunnel entrance, and the South portal," the fire department stated. After the track blocking, the emergency responders were able to approach the train, which was two-thirds in the old Mainz tunnel and one-third in the tunnel entrance, and gain access to it.
Upon arrival of the fire department, the Regional Emergency Service of the railway had already begun evacuating the train, the fire department added. They supported the evacuation. The collapsed person recovered quickly in the open air. A wheelchair user was lifted from the train and escorted through the tunnel to the main station. During the operation, which involved dozens of responders from Mainz and some from Wiesbaden, there were restrictions in train traffic.
The train traffic in the area was significantly affected due to the incident, causing delays and disruptions. Despite the ongoing heatwave, the International Committee of the Red Cross swiftly organized refreshments for the evacuated passengers in Mainz.
