A minister of one of the states in Germany Thomas Schäfer has committed suicide in despair of the coronavirus crisis.
Thomas Schäfer is the finance minister of the German state of Hesse and had been in the thick of things to mobilize his state’s response to the pandemic.
The 54-year-old regularly appeared in public in recent days, for example, to inform the public about financial assistance during the coronavirus crisis.
But his body according to German media reporting was found on a high-speed train line in the town of Hochheim between Frankfurt and Mainz.
German Police confirmed his death on Saturday saying a body on the tracks was first reported by witnesses to paramedics.
But initially they were unable to identify the remains due to the extent of the injuries.
Police say investigation on the scene confirmed the identity of the body as that of Schäfer with the death likely a suicide.
According to police the German state minister left a note before taking his own life, German daily Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported.
The German media outlet cited sources close to the investigation saying the note referenced Schäfer’s reasons for taking the step.
Stress over coronavirus
The premier of state of Hesse, Volker Bouffier, said in a statement that the state’s leadership has received the news with “sadness and disbelief.”
Bouffier also said that Schäfer had been living under considerable worry and stress because of the current COVID-19 pandemic.
“His main concern was whether he could manage to fulfill the huge expectations of the population, especially in terms of financial aid,” Bouffier said on Sunday. “For him, there was clearly no way out. He was disappointed and so he had to leave us. That has shocked us, has shocked me.”
“Our sincere condolences go to his closest relatives,” he added.
Schäfer was a member of Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats (CDU).
He had been active in Hessian state politics for more than two decades and was finance minister for almost 10 years.
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