High-speed trains collide in Slovakia: Over 100 injured, two in critical condition
Photo: High-speed trains collided in Slovakia (facebook.com policiaslovakia)
A high-speed train accident occurred in Slovakia near the village of Jablonov nad Turňou in the Rožňava district. Around one hundred people sustained minor injuries, while two are in critical condition, TASR reports.
According to media reports, three people were trapped in the wreckage, and their condition remains unknown. Preliminary information indicates there were no fatalities.
Slovak Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj Eštok said the crash was likely caused by human error. One of the train drivers failed to yield to the other.
"I don't want to speculate about the causes right now, but according to preliminary information, this was not a system error but human error. It appears that one of the locomotive drivers made a mistake and likely failed to yield, but this is still only an initial version," Šutaj Eštok said.
The collision between high-speed trains R 913 and R 914 Gemeran occurred shortly after 10:00 a.m. local time, in front of a tunnel near the village of Jablonov nad Turňou, at a section where a double-track line narrows into a single track. Rescue workers, firefighters, and police are currently on site.
According to Petra Klimešová, a spokesperson for the Slovak Emergency Medical Services Operations Center, two rescue helicopters and six ambulances were dispatched to the scene.
Later, the air rescue service Air Transport Europe reported deploying three additional helicopters, one of which returned to the site a second time due to the large number of injured. Victims are receiving emergency medical care, with the most seriously injured being transported to hospitals.
Earlier, we reported that around 400 passengers on a high-speed German ICE train were trapped in a tunnel near Vienna after an emergency stop. They spent over six hours without light or air conditioning.
