Security guard falls from moving train in Germany after altercation with passenger

A security guard working for German railway company Deutsche Bahn fell from a moving train during a violent confrontation with a passenger, sustaining life-threatening injuries, according to German police and prosecutors.

In a statement released early Saturday, police said the incident occurred on Friday evening during a ticket inspection aboard a train traveling from Offenburg to Karlsruhe in southwest Germany. An argument broke out during the inspection, prompting two Deutsche Bahn security guards to intervene.

One passenger, believed to be under the influence of alcohol, allegedly insulted the two guards. The situation escalated into a physical altercation between the 36-year-old passenger and one of the guards, aged 26.

Both men fell to the floor during the struggle, and for reasons still unknown, one of the train doors opened, causing the security guard to fall from the moving train near Ettlingen-Bruchhausen, according to police and prosecutors.

It remains unclear how fast the train was traveling at the time. The suspect was arrested while still on board.

After an extensive search, the security guard was found with severe injuries beside the tracks, about two kilometers from where the train later stopped. He was taken to hospital for treatment.

Police are investigating the circumstances and exact sequence of events. The train has been taken out of service pending the outcome of the investigation.

A similar incident occurred in February in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, when a ticket inspector was beaten to death by a man without a ticket after asking him to leave the train during a ticket check.

Last week, the 26-year-old perpetrator was sentenced to ten years in prison for causing death by bodily harm after delivering violent blows to the inspector's head, resulting in a fatal brain hemorrhage.

The crime shocked Germany and sparked debate about security on trains. For many train inspectors, the incident has taken on painful significance amid a rise in assaults on railway staff.

According to German government data, federal police recorded around 2,690 assaults on Deutsche Bahn employees in 2023, an increase of about 11 percent compared to the previous year.