Animal triggers electric shock: squirrel paralyzes rail traffic in Hanover

Because of a squirrel, a ten thousand volt cable tears off in Hanover and is swept away by a train.

Animal triggers electric shock: squirrel paralyzes rail traffic in Hanover

Because of a squirrel, a ten thousand volt cable tears off in Hanover and is swept away by a train. Passengers have to be fetched from an S-Bahn and wait for hours. The route will be closed.

A squirrel that climbed onto an overhead line caused a short circuit in Hanover and caused major disruptions to rail traffic. As the federal police in the Lower Saxony capital announced, the overhead line tore off and fell on a passing S-Bahn. A freight train passing at the same time in the opposite direction took the line further with it.

As a result, according to the federal police, the ten thousand volt cable was pulled to the ground at about 500 meters, the electricity had to be switched off and the route closed. Railway employees also had to drain the remaining electricity from the line before the 15 passengers could be taken off the S-Bahn. Meanwhile, railway employees and the police secured the area.

The travelers were only able to change to a replacement train that had been ordered to the scene of the accident after about three hours. According to the federal police, it is unclear how long the repair work on the overhead line should take. The squirrel died as a result of the massive electric shock.