Eight passengers were killed, all Danish citizens, and 16 were injured, making it the deadliest rail accident in Denmark since 1988.

[1] An early investigation found that in some cases, wagons similar to the one involved in the accident failed to lock the semi-trailers in place.

The Danish Transport Authority temporarily banned this kind of wagon until extra locking procedures were put in place, and have tightened the rules for freight on the bridge during windy weather.

[7][8] Meanwhile, a freight train operated by DB Cargo with a crew of one,[9] loaded with semi-trailers carrying crates of empty bottles belonging to Carlsberg, was heading in the opposite direction[5] towards the Carlsberg brewery at Fredericia, 72 kilometres (45 mi) to the north west of the crash site.

[16] Both in relation to the accident and the ongoing storm, the government crisis management organization, the National Operative Staff (NOST) decided to convene.

[32] Following the accident, operator DB Cargo temporarily suspended all freight trains carrying bottle crates.

[33] The accident resembled an incident in Hamburg, Germany, where a semi-truck that was not properly secured had been dislodged and collided with a bridge pier.

[39] On 7 January 2019, a test at DB Cargo showed that, after a semi-trailer had been loaded and secured, it could still be lifted off the wagon.

[41] The following day, the national transport authority temporarily prohibited the use of pocket wagons to transport semi-trailers until extra locking procedures were put in place, and tightened the rules for freight trains crossing the Great Belt, with respect to wind conditions.

[42][43] Shortly after, temporary measures to avoid similar accidents were introduced throughout the continent by the European Union Agency for Railways.

At the same time, there was uncertainty about who was responsible for this part of the maintenance (whether it was DB that leased and operated the freight train wagon, or VTG Rail that owned it).

[2] Shortly after the accident, a union representative of DB Cargo crossed out the name of a colleague who had checked the loaded freight train before departure.