Hamburg, Jan 30, (dpa/GNA) – A tragic incident at an underground station in Hamburg, abruptly ended the lives of two people. A 25-year-old man jumped in front of an incoming train in the city’s Wandsbek district, dragging a young woman to her death with him.
The 18-year-old woman, who holds Iranian citizenship, and the man from South Sudan did not know each other, the police said on Friday.
The man had previously been in trouble with the police. A spokesman for the public prosecutor’s office said no further information on the case was available at present.
The man was said to have been standing away from the young woman on the platform at around 10 pm (2100 GMT). Shortly afterwards, he is believed to have approached her suddenly, grabbed her and dragged her onto the tracks.
The reason for his actions is unclear. The homicide division is investigating the case on suspicion of a homicide.
Video footage and witness statements are to be further evaluated, the police said.
Following the fatal incident, many rescue workers and police officers were present in and around the Wandsbek Markt (Market) underground station during the night. Police officers secured the entrances to prevent unauthorized access.
Witnesses were provided with pastoral care by the crisis intervention team of the German Red Cross, according to the police.
By Friday monring, there were no traces indicating that two people had died at the underground station the previous night. No police were visible on the platforms or at the entrances. Instead, numerous passengers were travelling to their destinations by train as normal.
There were no flowers or candles on the platform or in the station.
Rail operator Deutsche Bahn, expressed shock at the horrific event. “Our thoughts are with the relatives of the deceased and with the colleagues of the Hochbahn,” a spokeswoman for the suburban commuter train network said.
Hamburg’s underground system is known as the Hochbahn, or elevated railway, as substantial parts of it were originally built on viaducts.
A spokesman for the Hamburg Hochbahn described it as a “terrible incident.”
At some stations, platform doors prevent accidents and incidents like this. However, in the underground system’s stations, they are not feasible, the Hamburg Hochbahn spokesman said. “Equipping with platform doors is still only planned for the driverless U5 line,” he said.
The separate suburban commuter train system in Hamburg has already examined the installation of safety glass platform doors between the platform and track area and assessed a fundamental overhaul as unrealistic.
“In addition to the high construction effort – especially at stations that are curved or with monument protection – all vehicles would need exactly matching door distances and special control technology,” the suburban network’s spokeswoman said.
This would fundamentally restrict vehicle deployment, she added.
Similar cases nationwide
There have been several tragic incidents in Germany where people are pushed in front of an oncoming train without warning, sometimes resulting in fatalities.
In August 2025, a 31-year-old is alleged to have deliberately pushed a 16-year-old girl against a freight train travelling at 100 kilometres per hour in Friedland in the northern state of Lower Saxony. According to the Ministry of Justice, she died instantly. The suspect was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia.
At the end of May 2024, two men argued over alcohol in Berlin, with deadly consequences: A 32-year-old man pushed a 48-year-old in front of an oncoming commuter train at Oranienburger Strasse (Street) station.
Incidents in 2019 attracted nationwide attention: at the end of January, a scuffle at Frankenstadion station in Nuremberg ended fatally for two youths. Two 17-year-olds are alleged to have pushed three 16-year-olds onto the tracks, but only one managed to escape the oncoming train.
At the end of July, a man pushed an 8-year-old boy and his mother in front of an oncoming high-speed InterCity Express (ICE) train at Frankfurt’s main station. The child was fatally injured, while the mother managed to get out of the track bed in time.
Only about a week earlier, a 34-year-old woman was pushed in front of a regional train in the western town of Voerde, in the state of North Rhine Westphalia, and also lost her life.
GNA