Near Würzburg

D: 2 dead and 27 injured in a pile-up

A 52-year-old woman and a two-year-old child died at the scene of the accident, another child had to be taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.(Bild: Twitter.com/brkaktuell)

Two people have been killed and 27 others injured in a pile-up involving around 40 vehicles on the A3 near Würzburg. A 52-year-old woman and a two-year-old child died at the scene of the accident, another child had to be taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

According to the report, there were a total of three accidents on the wet stretch of road within a short space of time on Sunday afternoon. 

Drivers distracted by damaged vehicle
According to the police, the first rear-end collision involving 17 cars occurred at around 4 p.m. before the Helmstadt junction. The reason for this was that some drivers had been distracted by a damaged vehicle from an earlier accident on the side of the road. As a result, two people were seriously injured and nine others suffered minor injuries.

A 52-year-old woman and a two-year-old child died at the scene of the accident, while another child had to be taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.(Bild: Twitter.com/brkaktuell)

Braking maneuver caused another accident
Immediately afterwards, a subsequent accident occurred several hundred meters behind due to braking maneuvers. As a result, three vehicles caught fire.

Another crash at the end of a traffic jam
The woman and the small child died here. Eleven people were slightly injured, three seriously - including the child with the life-threatening injuries. Around half an hour later, there was another accident at the end of the traffic jam, also involving three vehicles. There were two minor injuries.

Large contingent of emergency services on site
A large contingent of police, fire and rescue services were deployed. According to the Bavarian Red Cross, three rescue helicopters landed on the highway.

Around 30 uninjured people involved in the accident were reportedly looked after by trained helpers. A care center was also set up for the emergency services. According to initial information from the police, the damage to property is likely to amount to a mid-six-figure sum.