The head-on collision between two commuter trains in Germany last week which killed 11 people has sparked a criminal probe after prosecutors said the disaster was caused by a train dispatcher's 'human error'.
As well as those killed there were dozens injured when the trains crashed on a single-line track near Bad Aibling near Munich.
Chief prosecutor Wolfgang Giese said his office has officially opened a criminal investigation against the 39-year-old dispatcher.
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11 people were killed and another 150 wounded after two train collided near Bad Aibling in Bavaria (pictured)
Last week's accident is believed to have been caused by human error by a train controller
Prosecutors believe the controller made an error and opened the single line to both trains
Giese said: 'Had he behaved according to the rules the trains would not have collided.'
If the dispatcher is tried and found guilty of causing deaths through negligence he could be jailed for up to five years.
One of the trains derailed in the crash and several wagons overturned after the collision, which took place around 37 miles south of Munich on February 9.
The accident took place on a single-track rail, and state-owned operators Deutsche Bahn launched an immediate investigation into the disaster.
Each train carried several 'black boxes' which were recovered and interrogated to determine whether either driver was at fault.
However, the investigation found that the line's controller opened up the track to the trains heading in opposite directions.
Both trains met near a long, sweeping curve which meant neither driver could see the other until moments before impact.
Each train was travelling in the region of 60 mph when they collided.
Both trains were carrying 'hundreds of commuters when they collided 'head-on' in Bad Aibling, near Munich
Both trains were fitted with an emergency system which would apply the brakes if they passed a red light
However, because both trains were given green signals, the safety system was not ready to react
One of the trains derailed in the crash and several wagons overturned after the collision south of Munich
Scene: The horrific train crash took place in Bad Aibling, south of Munich, not far from the Austrian border
The rail line is used by commuters going to Munich for work and is usually a large number of schoolchildren, but as German schools are currently on a winter break, there was a limited number of children on board.
Police spokesman Stefan Sonntag said two regional trains crashed head-on on the single track between Rosenheim and Holzkirchen shortly before 7am.
'This is the biggest accident we have had in years in this region and we have many emergency doctors, ambulances and helicopters on the scene,' Sonntag said.
German news agency Dpa quoted Bernd Rosenbusch, the head of the Bayerische Oberlandbahn, which runs the trains, as saying, 'this is a huge shock - we are doing everything to help the passengers, relatives and employees.'
The trains' operator, Meridian, is part of French passenger transport firm Transdev, which is jointly owned by state-owned bank CDC and water and waste firm Veolia.
It runs train, tram and bus networks in 19 countries and had revenues of 6.6 billion euros in 2014.
A massive rescue operation was launched following last week's horrific impact in Bad Aibling, Bavaria
The accident site was between a river and a forest making the recovery operation incredibly difficult.
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