CZ/SK verze

Tragedy in Slovakia: Collision Between Express Train and Bus Claims Seven Lives

Tragedy in Slovakia: Collision Between Express Train and Bus Claims Seven Lives
photo: Police of the Slovak Republic - Nitra region/Accident near Nové Zámky
28 / 06 / 2024

A tragic accident occurred near Nové Zámky in southern Slovakia on Thursday when an express train from Prague to Budapest collided with a bus. The accident resulted in seven fatalities and five injuries.

Rescue workers reported on Facebook that seven people sustained injuries incompatible with life. Five other people, mainly bus passengers, were injured. The only person injured on the train was the engineer, who suffered burns on his hands. At the time of the accident, there were eight passengers and a driver on the bus.

According to Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok (Hlas), the bodies of the victims are burnt and cannot yet be identified. "The investigation must determine whether it was a technical failure or human error," the minister stated. Czech authorities have no information indicating that any Czech citizens were among the victims.

Accident at a Railway Crossing

The accident happened at a railway crossing leading to Dvory nad Žitavou, where the EC 279 Metropolitan train collided with a bus operated by Arriva. The collision tore the bus into two halves, and the locomotive caught fire. Thirty firefighters with ten units of equipment responded to the scene, according to Novinky.cz.

The emergency medical service's operations center dispatched five ambulances and three helicopters from Bratislava, Nitra, and Banská Bystrica. The injured were transported to hospitals in Levice, Galanta, Komárno, Nitra, and Bratislava. The hospital in Nové Zámky was damaged by a storm on Wednesday and was unable to admit patients.

Possible Signal Failure

The accident occurred around 5:00 PM at a protected railway crossing equipped with a light signal system. According to witnesses, the signal system had been malfunctioning since Wednesday's storm. Katarína Molnárová, who was at the scene, reported on Facebook that the signal at the crossing had been out of order for two days. Railway spokesperson Vladimíra Bahýlová has not yet commented on the situation.

České dráhy Locomotive and Slovak Train Set

According to Slovak media, the locomotive belonged to České dráhy (Czech Railways), while the train set and staff belonged to Slovak Railways. Following the accident, the track between Nové Zámky and Dvory nad Žitavou was impassable, as was the adjacent road.

Source: RAILTARGET, Novinky.cz

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