Two trains collided Sunday evening in western Slovakia, leaving several dozen people injured, according to the Slovak government. About 800 people were on board the two trains traveling between Svätý Jur and Pezinok, about 20 kilometers north of the capital, Bratislava, at the time of the collision, according to authorities.
“Dozens of them suffered minor injuries,” Slovak Interior Minister Matús Sutaj Estok said evening at the crash site. Eleven people were taken to hospital in Bratislava, he added, adding that there were no fatalities in the collision.
“Police officers on site are intensively assisting emergency services,” Bratislava regional police said on Facebook, speaking of “chaos” at the scene of the collision. The train accident involved a Tatran express train from Kosice to Bratislava and a regional express train from Nitra to the capital.
An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident. “The train ran through a red light and left the station when it was not supposed to. The second express train hit it from behind at a speed of more than 100 km/h,” said Ivan Bednárik, director of Slovak Railways, at the scene. “Both drivers tested negative for alcohol and drugs,” a police spokesman said.
