In Slovakia, as a result of the collision of passenger trains, about 100 people were injured

On October 13, two passenger trains collided in the area of ​​the Slovak village of Yablunov-nad-Turnów in the Rozhnava District of the Košice Region. As a result of the accident, about a hundred people were injured, two of them are in critical condition. There is currently no information about the possible presence of Ukrainians among the passengers. This is reported by AP News.

The incident, as a result of which one of the trains derailed, happened after 10:00 am local time at the junction of railway tracks. The spokesman of the Kosice Regional Fire and Rescue Service, Josef Balint, first reported that, according to preliminary data, more than 20 people were injured. He also noted that firefighters from several units arrived at the scene of the accident.

The emergency medical operations center said that five ambulances and a rescue helicopter were sent to the scene. According to the police, two express trains traveling in opposite directions were carrying a large number of passengers.

“All units of the comprehensive rescue system are on site. Passengers are gradually leaving the train cars, the extent of injuries is currently unknown. The police are blocking the scene, coordinating the work of rescue teams and managing the movement of people in the area, said the Police Department of the Košice Region.

The spokesman of the state railway carrier ZSSK Jan Bachek emphasized that the circumstances of the collision are being investigated:

“Our priority right now is the rescue and evacuation of passengers and our employees. Information will be constantly updated”.

Later, the Minister of Internal Affairs of Slovakia, Matus Šutaj-Eštok, announced during a press conference that as a result of the accident, about a hundred people were lightly injured, and two more were in a critical condition. According to preliminary data, there are no victims. At the same time, three passengers remain trapped in the carriages, and their condition is still unknown.

“At this time, I do not want to speculate about the causes of the accident, but according to preliminary data, it was not a system failure, but human error. It seems that one of the train drivers made a mistake and probably did not give way to another train, but this is only a preliminary version for now, the minister said.