Horazdovice, west Bohemia, Aug 4 (CTK) – Two express trains collided in the Horazdovice railway station this afternoon, due to which 15 people were hospitalised with their injuries, spokespersons for the firefighters, the Czech Railways, the rescue service and the Rail Safety Inspection have told CTK.
No lives are threatened. Further tens of people suffered light injuries. They were treated on the scene of the accident, the spokespersons said.
There were roughly 200 passengers in the trains. The accident may have been caused by a wrongly set point, they added.
Czech Railways (CT) spokeswoman Radka Pistoriusova said the last two carriages of an express train riding from Ceske Budejovice to Plzen derailed.
“The derailed carriages collided with the express train going from Plzen to Ceske Budejovice that was just standing there,” Pistoriusova said.
Seven ambulances and three helicopters were sent to the scene of the accident.
The damage has not yet been quantified, but along with the carriages, the rails were damaged, too, Jan Kucera, from the Rail Safety Inspection, said.
pv/dr/rtj