Accident between Alzingen and Schlammesté in March 1989 / © RTL Archives
In the wake of the nation's most fatal road accident in 36 years – a crash that killed five on the N15 – the incident draws parallels to other devastating collisions that have marked Luxembourg's history.
The head-on collision that claimed five lives on the N15 on 1 September 2025 marks the deadliest road accident in Luxembourg in 36 years.
The crash occurred around 6pm between Feulen and Heiderscheid, involving a car and a van. All five occupants from both vehicles were pronounced dead at the scene.
An historical overview of past tragedies
This recent tragedy recalls several other serious accidents that have occurred in Luxembourg in recent years.
One such event was the violent collision on 6 March 2023, on Rue de Neudorf in Luxembourg City, which resulted in three fatalities and one injury. The accident occurred when two cars attempted to overtake a stationary bus simultaneously. The impact of the crash propelled one of the vehicles into a building, striking a pedestrian.
Another particularly deadly accident made headlines on 30 September 2018, on the A3 motorway. Four young people, aged 17 and 18 from the French Moselle region, died in a head-on collision with a bus while returning home in the early hours after an evening at a nightclub in Luxembourg.
Although it occurred a decade ago, the terrible accident on 16 September 2015, on the road between Waldhof and Gonderange also remains in public memory. A young driver lost control of his car, leading to a collision with an oncoming van. A second vehicle then attempted to avoid the crash, resulting in a further collision that claimed three lives.
An accident 36 years ago also claimed the lives of five people
A death toll as high as Monday's on the N15 had not been seen since the end of March 1989, when a single-car accident on the road between Alzingen and Schlammesté resulted in five fatalities. As reported in the RTL Télé news bulletin on 2 April 1989, the driver lost control during an overtaking manoeuvre. The vehicle struck one tree, then a second, before bursting into flames.
© RTL Archives
Five Portuguese nationals from the same family killed
An equally tragic accident occurred in the 1970s, between Brouch to Saeul. On the evening of Friday, 28 August 1970, five Portuguese nationals lost their lives. Contemporary reporting from the Luxemburger Wort identified the victims as five members of the same family, ranging in age from 23 to 49 years. The newspaper's article stated that on a long right-hand bend, the driver of a car with Belgian number plates "undoubtedly due to excessive speed," lost control. The vehicle hit a tree and caught fire. The victims were later buried in Saeul.
5 Portuguese killed in tragic road accident near Saeul. / © Image Luxemburger Wort, 123. Jg., n° 242/243 (01.09.1970)
Border tanker explosion
The most catastrophic accident in the region's records occurred on Monday, 21 August 1967, on the Belgian-Luxembourg border near Martelange-Rombach. A lorry transporting liquid gas lost control, and its tanker crashed onto the Sûre bridge before exploding. The blast destroyed several houses on both sides of the border. With 22 dead and 47 injured, it remains the deadliest road accident ever recorded in the country and at its borders.
