Four people died and more than two dozen were injured after a passenger train collided with a freight train late on Wednesday in the Czech city of Pardubice, the regional governor said.

"A head-on collision between a RegioJet train and a freight train claimed several lives and left dozens injured," Martin Netolicky, governor of the Pardubice region,
said on Facebook.

Firefighters, paramedics and doctors, as well as at least one rescue helicopter, have been deployed at the scene of the accident, some 100 kilometers east of Prague.

The country's interior and transport ministers said they were headed to the accident scene, while Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressed his "sincere condolences to all the bereaved" in a post on social media platform X.

300 passengers on board, carriage derailed
The fast train, operated by RegioJet, was traveling overnight from Prague to Kosice in eastern Slovakia, the Railway Administration said. 

The accident occurred shortly before 23:00 (2100 GMT) near the main train station in Pardubice, Czech TV reported.

As per Fire Rescue Services, over 300 passengers were on board. 

Many of the passengers were foreigners, Czech TV said.

Footage on local media showed at least one carriage off the track after the crash. 

While passengers were being ushered into buses near the Pardubice main station, Czech TV said. 

Transport Minister Martin Kupka said a major track between Prague and the eastern part of the country had to be shut down while authorities investigate the collision.

Source: DW

BDST: 1105 HRS, JUNE 6, 2024
MN