Slovak officials said on Thursday (June 27th) that a train traveling from the Czech capital Prague to the Hungarian capital Budapest collided with a public bus in southern Slovakia, resulting in at least five deaths and five injuries.
According to reports from the Associated Press, the accident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. local time (15:00 GMT) in the town of Nove Zamky, as stated by the police and Slovak rail company ZSSK. The EuroCity train involved in the collision was carrying over 100 people.
The Slovak rescue department confirmed the casualties, with ZSSK stating that the five deceased individuals were not on the train.
Video footage showed that the train engine caught fire, and railway officials mentioned that the public bus sustained significant damage in the accident.
Authorities mentioned that Slovak Minister of the Interior, Matus Sutai Estok, is en route to the accident site.
The main railway track connecting Budapest and the Slovak capital Bratislava has been closed until further notice. ZSSK mentioned that over 100 stranded passengers from the affected train are being transported by bus to the town of Sturovo on the Hungarian border.
The injured are being taken to hospitals in nearby towns, as some areas of the local hospital were flooded after heavy rainfall overnight, leading to its closure on Thursday.
The owner of the train involved, Czech Railways, reported that the train driver is Czech and suffered minor burns but escaped harm. The other four injured individuals were passengers on the train.
The cause of the accident remains unclear, with authorities currently conducting an investigation.
Slovak President Peter Pellegrini, who is attending an EU summit in Brussels, expressed condolences to the families of the deceased.
“I wish a speedy recovery to the injured and express gratitude to the doctors and rescue teams for their efforts. I hope that Slovakia will not experience such disasters in the future,” said Pellegrini.