BERLIN (AP) — Authorities in southern Germany said efforts to put out a fire on a train turned into a spectacular chase early Friday after the driverless diesel engine began taking off toward Austria of its own accord.
Firefighters were called to put out the blaze on a train near the village of Strass around 3 a.m. (0200 GMT), the Bavarian Red Cross said. But shortly before they arrived, the engine began to move down the incline, picking up speed as it rolled several kilometers (miles) toward the town of Frylasing.
A video posted online by the volunteer firefighting company Freilassing showed flames and smoke pouring from the train as it passed through the city.
With firefighters in pursuit, rail officials managed to divert the “ghost train” onto a siding near Freilassing station, where it was stopped by a buffer before it could cross the border. The fire was extinguished and no one was injured, the Bavarian Red Cross said in a statement.
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