BERLIN, (Reuters) – Germany and Hanover 96 goalkeeper Robert Enke has died after being hit by an express train in an apparent suicide near Hanover, local police said yesterday.
“First indications point to suicide,” a media officer for the Lower Saxony police told Reuters before adding Enke’s body was found at a train crossing in Neustadt am Ruebenberge near Hanover.
“At 1825 (1725GMT) he was run over by a regional express train running between Hamburg and Bremen,” said police spokesman Stefan Wittke. “The train was travelling at the speed of 160-kph.”
The player’s friend and consultant Joerg Neblung told reporters: “I can confirm this is a case of suicide. He took his own life just before six (pm). There will be a press conference tomorrow with more details.”
Enke, 32, won eight international caps and was in the running to play at the World Cup in South Africa next year.
The news left Germans reeling and stunned the national soccer federation (DFB).
“The German team has learned of the death of Robert Enke with great shock,” said the DFB in a statement. “National team coach Joachim Loew and manager Oliver Bierhoff said ‘we are all shocked, we are speechless’.”
Loew informed the squad of Enke’s death in a hotel in Bonn ahead of their friendly match against Chile on Saturday in Cologne.
DFB president Theo Zwanziger said the federation was in mourning. “Our feelings go out to his wife and family,” he said.
Enke, who had spells with clubs in Spain, Turkey and Portugal before signing for Bundesliga team Hanover in 2004, experienced a difficult time in recent months as he battled to secure his place in Germany’s team.
