At least 4 killed, 27 injured in Czech train collision
Firefighters work at the scene of a train crash in Pardubice, Czech Republic on Thursday.
At least four people were killed and 27 others injured after a passenger train collided with a freight train late on Wednesday in the Czech Republic, according to local media on Thursday.
The collision happened at around 11pm local time Wednesday in the northeastern Czech city of Pardubice. The passenger train of the Czech company RegioJet was traveling from the Czech capital of Prague to the eastern Slovak city of Kosice when it collided head-on with the freight train.
According to local rescuers, about 380 people were traveling in the passenger train. Photos from the scene showed the first carriage of the passenger train was derailed and partially overturned.
"The freight train was carrying calcium carbide in wagons, but fortunately the first two wagons were empty, so there was no leakage of the dangerous substance," the Fire Rescue Service of the Czech Republic of the Pardubice region said in a statement.
Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the passenger train "includes trailer cars to the Ukrainian city of Chop located in the middle of the train," and two of its citizens were among the dead.
According to the findings of the Railway Inspectorate, the passenger train missed the signal in the no-go position and entered the constructed track for a freight train.
"Whether it was a technical defect, a human error or a combination of both factors is the subject of a detailed investigation," it said in a statement.
