 Firefighters used turntable ladders and aerial platforms to reach the wreckage above ground level.Immediately after the accident, German transport minister Wolfgang Tiefensee held an emergency meeting with representatives from Siemens AG and ThyssenKrupp, the two companies jointly responsible for the Transrapid.He commented afterwards that "major safety failings" were the clear cause of the accident, and that two key questions requiring answers were whether the Transrapid's safety measures were adequate, and whether they were applied on the test track.