High-Speed Train in Germany Hits Man to Death

BERLIN -- Police reported Friday that a high-speed train ran over a man late Thursday evening while travelling from Frankfurt to Cologne. The incident caused the busy line to be temporarily shut down for hours.

The accident took place close to Idstein, a town of Hesse state. Police said it remains unclear whether the man commit suicide.

There were 630 passengers on board the Inter City Express (ICE) train at that time. They all had to disembark and wait in the dark until a group of buses arrived at the secene to transport them to Cologne.

A Deutsche Bahn spokesperson said over a dozen other trains had to cancel their trips or forced to change route while clearance operations were ongoing. It took around four hours before the line was re-opened.

The line between Cologne and Frankfurt is one of the busiest railways in Germany, with an average of eight trains travelling along the track per hour.