By Canadian Press

Prague-to-Budapest train collides with a bus in Slovakia, killing 5 people and injuring 5

Jun 27, 2024 | 12:50 PM

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A train traveling from the Czech capital of Prague to the Hungarian capital of Budapest collided with a bus in southern Slovakia on Thursday, leaving at least five people dead and five injured, officials said.

More than 100 people were aboard the Eurocity train when the accident took place shortly after 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) in the town of Nove Zamky, police and the Slovak railway company ZSSK said.

The deaths and injuries were confirmed by Slovakia’s rescue service, and ZSSK said none of the five deaths were aboard the train.

Video footage showed that the engine of the train was on fire, and railway officials said the bus was badly damaged in the crash.

Interior Minister Matus Sutai Estok was heading to the scene of the accident, police said.

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The major train track linking Slovakia’s capital Bratislava with Budapest was closed until further notice. The more than 100 stranded passengers aboard the stricken train were being transported by buses to the town of Sturovo on the Hungarian border, ZSSK said.

The injured were transported to hospitals in nearby towns and cities because the local one was closed Thursday after some parts of it were flooded after a heavy rain overnight.

The driver of the engine, a Czech national, escaped with light burns, said the Czech Railways, its owner. The other four injured people were travelers aboard the train.

It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and authorities were investigating. The crossing is protected by gates.

President Peter Pellegrini, who was in Brussels to attend a summit of European Union leaders, offered his condolences to relatives of the dead.

“I wish the injured a speedy recovery and thank the doctors and rescue teams for their work done,” Pellegrini said. “I wish that such catastrophes would spare Slovakia in the future.”

The Associated Press