1966 German bus crash near Limburg kills 33, including 28 children

![The wreck of the bus below the highway bridge. On the return trip from vacation in Tyrol to Brussels, the bus carrying a Belgian youth group crashed through the railing of a bridge on the Frankfurt-Cologne highway near Limburg on July 25, 1966, and plunged into the depths. 28 children and five adults died in the accident. [dpabilderarchiv]](https://images.welt.de/6a5485968eaf4a27fe1e4b3c/9cf28f0e149b66386c344b686633649c/ci23x11-w1200/2085560-jpg)

The wreck of the bus below the highway bridge, photographed on the morning of July 25, 1966. Source: Roland Witschel/dpa/picture-alliance

On the morning of July 25, 1966, the worst bus accident in Germany up to that time occurred near Limburg an der Lahn. A tour bus fell from a bridge and landed on its roof. Thirty-three people died, including 28 children.

The Crash

At exactly 5:15 a.m., a thunderous crash woke Fausto Montero, a 40-year-old guest worker from Spain. He had been sleeping in a barracks next to his workplace, a brickworks located about 50 meters from the Cologne–Frankfurt highway. At that point, the highway crosses the country road from Niederbrechen to Werschau on a bridge nearly 15 meters high.

Montero jumped out of bed and rushed to the window:

"Outside I saw a bus lying there. It had plunged down the bridge and landed on its roof. Nothing was left of the roof or the windows – the bus was crushed flat like a flounder."

The Aftermath

Blood dripped from the bus wreck onto the road. The wheels, pointing skyward, were still spinning. Montero heard a faint whimpering and notified his boss, who immediately alerted the police.

Returning to the accident site, Montero told a reporter just hours later:

"I had to help. Suddenly I saw a child's hand. It was sticking out through the narrow gap that remained from the bus window."

He reached for the hand and stroked it. The hand squeezed back, belonging to a girl. But Montero could not help her – he never learned whether she survived. Other children died in the arms of helpless helpers.

![The wreck of the bus below the highway bridge. On the return trip from vacation in Tyrol to Brussels, the bus carrying a Belgian youth group crashed through the railing of a bridge on the Frankfurt-Cologne highway near Limburg on July 25, 1966, and plunged into the depths. 28 children and five adults died in the accident. [dpabilderarchiv]](https://images.welt.de/6a5485968eaf4a27fe1e4b3c/8dcd95ac8444aa0201ea11d16a83df36/coriginal-w1200/2085566-jpg)

The view from above. Between the two lanes lay nearly 15 meters of height. Source: picture-alliance/dpa/Roland Witschel

Victims and Identification

The bus was a Belgian tour vehicle returning a group of children from a holiday stay in Austria to Brussels. On the highway, it crashed through the bridge railing and plunged onto the country road.

• 17 of the 43 occupants were killed instantly
• 16 more died after rescue, either on the way to the hospital or in the hospital
• The driver was among the dead

Hardly any of the children carried identification. Most of the dead could not be identified immediately. Heartbreaking scenes unfolded at the Brussels police headquarters, where messages from German police arrived. Parents rushed there, desperate to know if their child was among the dead or injured, but for hours no names could be released.

Aftermath

At noon on the day of the accident, the wreck was towed nine kilometers to the yard of the Limburg police. The bodies were laid out in the auditorium of the Limburg Tilemann Gymnasium, where an altar was set up. King Baudouin of Belgium immediately had a wreath laid.