ICE train makes emergency stop after door opens at speed in German countryside

An ICE train traveling at about 200 kilometers per hour through Lower Franconia made an emergency stop after a carriage door opened for an unexplained reason.

The driver stopped the train at the entrance to a tunnel near Karlstadt in Bavaria’s Main-Spessart district, according to federal police. The ICE 528 was traveling from Munich to Dortmund on Tuesday evening and had 238 passengers on board. They were evacuated and assisted by emergency workers. No one was injured.

Authorities initially could not rule out that someone had fallen from the train. Federal and state police, firefighters and rescue services searched the track section before the Schönrain Tunnel using a drone, search dogs, a helicopter and thermal-imaging equipment.

The search proved difficult because of darkness and rough terrain. No missing or injured person was found. Investigators later took the train to Lohr am Main station to determine how the door opened.