June 6, 2024Reuters
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PRAGUE (Reuters) – Four people died and more than 20 were injured in a train accident in Pardubice, Czech Republic, on Wednesday evening when a passenger train and a freight convoy collided, officials said government officials and emergency service representatives.
At least three people were seriously injured in the accident which occurred late Wednesday evening, Czech Interior Minister Vit Rakusan said.
The passenger train, operated by the RegioJet company, was traveling between Prague and the town of Kosice in eastern Slovakia, according to the railway administration.
The Czech Republic’s fire and rescue service said more than 300 people were on the train. Dozens of police officers, firefighters and members of the emergency services were deployed to the scene of the accident.
Images broadcast on the idnes.cz news site showed at least one train car having derailed.
Czech public television reported a fire department spokesman, who said the freight train was carrying calcium carbide, but the first two carriages were empty and no leaks had been reported.
The Minister of Transport, Martin Kupka, announced during a press briefing that an investigation had been opened to determine the causes of the accident.
(Jason Hovet and Jan Lopatka; French version Camille Raynaud)
