Germany After Taking a Smoking Break on the Platform, Leaving Her Two Children — Aged Eight Months and 13 Years — to Travel on Alone Aboard

The woman reported the incident to the federal police at around 1:54 a.m. on Wednesday, saying she had used the stop in Mannheim for a cigarette and failed to get back on the train in time, police said. Officers alerted the train manager and the federal police station in Stuttgart, where authorities took the two children into their care at around 2:30 a.m. Shortly afterward, the children were picked up unharmed by a family member. The incident echoes a similar case just weeks earlier at Bamberg station, where a father was separated from his one-year-old daughter after a smoking break that lasted too long.

He was eventually reunited with his child in Erfurt. The latest case highlights the risks of stepping off a train during a brief stop, particularly with young children on board. Deutsche Bahn advises passengers to stay close to the train and heed departure times to avoid being left behind.