Former Arsenal goalkeeper Alexander Manninger has died at the age of 48 after his vehicle was hit by a regional train at an unguarded railway crossing in Austria this morning.
The collision took place at approximately 8:20am near the village of Nußdorf am Haunsberg in the Salzburg region, with the ex-footballer's VW minivan being dragged several metres along the track.
Manninger, who represented Austria on 33 occasions, enjoyed a distinguished career across European football, featuring for prestigious sides including Juventus Turin, AC Fiorentina and Liverpool before hanging up his gloves in 2017.
He was the sole occupant of the vehicle at the time of the incident.
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Emergency services including the Red Cross and volunteer firefighters from Nußdorf rushed to the scene following the crash, which occurred just beyond the Pabing stop.
Rescuers managed to extract the former goalkeeper from the wreckage and attempted resuscitation, deploying a defibrillator in their efforts to save him.
Despite these measures, the 48-year-old could not be revived.
Alexander Manninger pictured during his time at Arsenal
|GETTY
The approximately 25 passengers travelling on the local train at the time of the collision were unhurt, as was the driver operating the service.
Manninger's vehicle, described as a modern minivan, sustained severe damage in the impact.
The public prosecutor's office has commissioned forensic expert Gerhard Kronreif to reconstruct precisely what occurred in the moments before the fatal collision.
Alexander Manninger later spent time at Liverpool
|GETTY
"Due to the type of vehicle, it's possible to precisely analyse the electronic data and thus the driver's behavior," says Kronreif.
Investigators will also scrutinise data recorded by the train to build a complete picture of events.
A key element of the inquiry will be determining whether the warning signals at the unguarded crossing activated correctly and in sufficient time.
The exact circumstances surrounding how the collision came to happen remain unclear at this stage.
Manninger was born in the city of Salzburg on 4 June 1977 and developed his talents through the Austria Salzburg youth system.
Following spells with Vorwärts Steyr and GAK, the promising keeper secured a move to Arsenal in 1997, marking the beginning of an impressive international career.