Two trains collided in Western Slovakia on Sunday evening, injuring dozens of passengers, police and Interior Minister Matúš Šutaj-Eštok have confirmed. The crash occurred near the town of Pezinok, about 20 kilometers northeast of Bratislava.
The collision happened when one of the trains ran a red signal and struck the other from behind. Train Tatran 620, travelling from Kosice to Bratislava, collided with REX 1814, which was heading from Nitra to the capital. Interior Minister Eštok said that dozens of people were lightly injured and 11 were taken to hospital. There were no fatalities.
A spokesperson for University Hospital Bratislava said: “Two patients are currently undergoing surgery. We expect the number of people who will have to undergo surgery to increase”
“This is an extraordinary incident,” said Ivan Bednárik, head of the Slovak railway service ZSR. “One of the trains was in a place it shouldn’t have been. I won’t speculate before the investigation is complete, but it clearly ran a red signal, leaving a stop where it shouldn’t have, and the second express train collided with it from behind at an estimated speed of over 100 km/h.”
More than 70 firefighters and 60 police officers rushed to the scene, and evacuation buses were used to transport passengers.
Prime Minister Robert Fico urged the public on social media to focus on the injured and avoid speculation.
The crash was Slovakia’s second train accident in less than a month. On October 13th, two trains collided in the east of the country, injuring 91 people.
