Short cut along railway track cost teacher his life at Oktoberfest

Questions are raised as to how Abu Dhabi-based teacher Darren Duggan's death could have been prevented.

As the widow of an Abu Dhabi teacher was taking his body back to their native Australia yesterday for his funeral, questions were being raised as to why his death on an Eid holiday in Germany might not have been prevented. Darren Duggan, 38, died instantly when he was hit by a train while walking back from the Oktoberfest beer festival to his campsite in the early hours of Monday. In Munich, the Abendzeitung newspaper said that although shuttle buses between the festival and the campground were provided, it was common for revellers to take a short cut along the railway line.

During the first days of this year's festival, it said, there had been frequent reports from residents and train drivers about people walking along the tracks. A statement from the police in Munich said they would work harder to prevent people using the dangerous short cut. Mr Duggan, a teaching co-ordinator for Nord Anglia Education in Abu Dhabi, knew about the shuttle bus service because he told his wife, Liz, that he would catch a later shuttle when she decided to head back to the campground on Sunday evening.

He was walking back with a 25-year-old New Zealand man when he fell on to the tracks about 1.20am. Mr Duggan's funeral is scheduled for Tuesday in Queensland. He had been living in Abu Dhabi since April. [e-mail]