2 youths die after driving off top of multi-storey car park in Germany

Two young men drove off the top floor of the multi-storey car park in the Borbeck district of the western German city of Essen at around 7:20 pm (1720 GMT) on Easter Sunday and died, reported dpa.

Police had traced tracks on the top parking deck with neon yellow paint, which led in an arc directly to the edge.

The car they were in fell 15 to 18 metres and came to rest on the pavement on the driver's side, the fire brigade announced late on Sunday evening.

According to the fire brigade, rescue workers removed parts of the vehicle roof with hydraulic equipment and found two unresponsive young men in the "totally deformed vehicle." They were 16 and 19 years old.

The police were not yet able to say which of the two was driving. This was "part of the ongoing investigation," a spokesperson said late Sunday.

The mass-circulation Bild newspaper cited local residents as saying that joyriders repeatedly used the parking deck, deliberately oversteering cars for kicks.

According to witness statements and traces on the top parking deck, it is suspected that driving manoeuvres may have taken place there that led to the accident, a police spokesperson told dpa.

The young men involved in the accident were taken to a hospital under ongoing resuscitation, where death was later ascertained, the fire brigade said.

Witnesses and family members who had come to the scene of the accident were given emergency pastoral care.

The fire brigade was at the scene with numerous emergency personnel, and four emergency doctors were also on duty.