If the axle had broken at high speed, this could have been a major disaster. Now an investigation is underway to find out if the defective axle on the ICE 3 should have been identified during a maintainance check.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,565278,00.html
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,565278,00.html
