Twelve people were injured and six hospitalised after two trams collided in Hanover on Thursday afternoon, triggering a mass casualty response and disrupting several transit lines across the city.
Two trams collided sideways in Hanover around midday on Thursday in an incident that caught both passengers and authorities off guard. According to the fire department, twelve people sustained injuries, with six requiring immediate transfer to hospital. A fire service spokesperson was unable to confirm the severity of the injuries at the time of reporting.
Emergency crews counted 20 passengers across both trams at the scene, though authorities acknowledged that others may have already left the area before first responders arrived.
The two trams were supposed to pass each other safely at the point where the collision took place, according to the fire department and Hanover's public transport operator Üstra. Instead, they struck each other from the side for reasons that remain entirely unclear. Police have opened a formal investigation, and the crash site has been cordoned off.
Üstra confirmed that emergency bus replacement services have been arranged on tram lines 3, 7, 13, and 17 to keep commuters moving while the area remains closed.
The scale of the response was significant. Upon receiving the emergency call, the control centre immediately declared a mass casualty incident, deploying a large number of fire and rescue personnel to the scene. A large-capacity rescue vehicle, a specially converted bus designed to treat multiple patients at the same time, was among the key resources sent to the location.
Medical teams used it to assess and stabilise injured passengers on site before transferring those with more serious injuries to hospital. The investigation into the cause of the collision is ongoing.
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