The lorry driver and two children were among the injured. Photo credit: HZS Zlínského kraje, via Facebook.
Holesov, June 5 (CTK) – Nine people were injured in a collision between a lorry and a passenger train with 50 people on board which derailed in Holesov in the Kromeriz area this morning. The injuries were mostly minor, but all of the injured were sent to hospital, regional emergency service spokeswoman Gabriela Netopilova Slustikova told CTK.
The lorry driver and two children were among the injured, she added. Police spokesman Radomir Siska said the train driver was also injured in the accident.
The train, a passenger train travelling from Roznov pod Radhostem to Kojetin, near Prerov, crashed into a lorry at a level crossing on the road to an industrial zone. “This is not a busy road. There are nine injured, including the train driver. Both the train and lorry driver tested negative for alcohol,” Siska told CTK.
The regional emergency service sent five crews to the accident, Netopilova Slustikova said.
The service initially reported ten injured, but its spokeswoman updated the number to nine, including two children aged 15 and 13.
The estimated damage to the train and the line is CZK 2.5 million, said Martin Drapal, a spokesman for the Rail Safety Inspection (DI).
The operation of the regional line between Holesov and Bystrice pod Hostynem in the Kromeriz is currently interrupted, and replacement buses are running there instead, said Czech Railways (CD). Railway Administration spokesman Jan Nevola added that the trains will not resume before 3pm. He told CTK that the impact of the crash was very strong, and almost the entire train was off the track.
The accident was probably caused by the lorry driver’s inattention, but the investigation continues, Nevola said.
Firefighters, who are also intervening at the scene, have declared the second of four levels of fire alarm in connection with the accident.
An evacuation bus was sent to the scene to collect the uninjured passengers and take them to another train station, said Lucie Javorikova, spokeswoman for the regional fire brigade, on social media.
After the collision, a large amount of operating fluids leaked from the lorry. The firefighters covered them with sorbent and prevented further leakage, she noted. They also secured the derailed train to prevent it from moving further, Javorikova said.
Railway firefighters from Prerov arrived at the scene and took command, she added.
The accident happened shortly before 7:15 am, said Drapal, adding that rail safety inspectors were at the scene, investigating the causes of the accident.