Former Arsenal and Liverpool goalkeeper Alex Manninger has died after his car was hit by a train. The death of a 48-year-old man occurred at a railway crossing in the Austrian city of Salzburg, local authorities said.
Manninger was alone in his car when the train collided with his car at around 8:20 a.m. local time on Thursday morning. None of the passengers on the train were reportedly injured, and police are currently investigating what happened.
Paramedics pulled Manninger from the car and administered first aid, and a defibrillator was also used. But it was too late, and Manninger was pronounced dead shortly after.
“Depending on the type of vehicle, it is possible to precisely analyze the electronic data and therefore the driver’s behavior,” Gerhard Kronreif of the public prosecutor’s office told Austrian news agency Kronen Zeitung.
Austrian club Red Bull Salzburg said in a statement: “We mourn the loss of former goalkeeper Alexander Manninger, who tragically lost his life in a car accident. Our thoughts are with his family and friends. Rest in peace, Alexander.”
Manninger joined Arsenal in 1997 and spent most of his time with the Gunners as a substitute for David Seaman. During the title-winning 1997/98 season, Seaman was injured, but he continued to flourish in the first team, making a total of 64 appearances during his five-year spell with the club.
His performances in the 1997/98 season helped Arsenal win the Premier League and FA Cup double. After leaving Highbury in 2002, Manninger went on to play for clubs across the continent, including Fiorentina, Bologna, Espanyol and Juventus.
The Austrian international returned to England in 2016, signing a short-term deal with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool. Manninger announced his retirement from football after the 2016/17 season and focused on his real estate business.
