24 injured as two trams collide in Gelsenkirchen, three in life-threatening condition

Collision on Kurt-Schumacher-Straße

On Thursday around 12:30 PM, two trams collided on the Kurt-Schumacher-Straße in the Beckhausen district of Gelsenkirchen, a heavily travelled road near the Veltins Arena in the city centre. According to police, a driving school tram had stopped on the open track a few hundred metres before the Willy-Brandt-Allee stop, on the stretch between the Veltins-Arena and Willy-Brandt-Allee stops. A passenger tram on line 302, fully occupied with passengers, then crashed into it without braking, based on initial findings reported by WDR. A police spokesperson described the second tram as colliding with "the standing or slowly moving" tram.

The reason the driving school tram stopped on the open track remains unclear. A specialised traffic accident investigation team from the Bochum police was requested to examine the scene. Multiple ambulances and fire services attended, with reinforcements called in from Essen and Recklinghausen. Many ambulances were deployed at the scene, transporting the injured to surrounding hospitals. Several other people sat at the roadside and were attended by rescue workers, according to tagesschau.

Casualty figures

Injury counts varied across sources and over time. Police initially reported up to 30 injured, a figure carried by several outlets including Focus and Süddeutsche Zeitung. The police later corrected the number downward to 24, as reported by Berliner Zeitung and tagesschau. The fire department listed 24 injured in total: three with life-threatening injuries, seven with serious injuries, and 14 with minor injuries, according to DIE WELT. FAZ reported 25 injured with seven seriously hurt and three in life-threatening condition, noting the police had corrected the initially stated figure of 30. Le Soir reported about twenty injured with three seriously hurt. All the injured received first aid at the scene before being transported to hospital.

Mayor visits the scene

Gelsenkirchen's mayor Andrea Henze visited the accident site and described her reaction to the damage.

An absolute moment of shock when you see the destruction in the tram.

She made the comment to WDR after inspecting the damaged vehicles at the scene.

Traffic disruption

The Kurt-Schumacher-Straße was closed in both directions between Emil-Zimmermann-Allee and Willy-Brandt-Allee for several hours, causing considerable disruption to both road and tram traffic. The area around the Kurt-Schumacher-Straße remained closed hours after the noon accident. Tram services in the area were completely interrupted in both directions. Around 4:00 PM, one carriageway toward Gelsenkirchen-Buer was reopened, with Berliner Zeitung reporting the reopening at approximately 4:10 PM. The direction toward the city centre remained closed pending recovery of the severely damaged trams. A fire brigade crane was called in the early evening to remove the wreckage.