Slovakia: Train from Prague to Budapest crashes with bus, killing six people
At least six people have died after a train travelling through Slovakia collided with a bus on Thursday.
The train had been travelling from the Czech capital of Prague to the Hungarian capital of Budapest when the crash happened in southern Slovakia, shortly after 5pm local time.
Officials said six people were killed and at least five people injured in the tragedy.
More than 100 people were aboard the Eurocity train when the accident took place near the town of Nove Zamky, police and the Slovak railway company ZSSK said.
Video footage showed that the engine of the train was on fire. The bus was badly damaged in the crash, railway officials said.
Interior minister Matus Sutai Estok was heading to the scene of the accident, police said on Thursday evening.
The major train track linking Slovakia's capital Bratislava with Budapest was closed until further notice.
The more than 100 stranded passengers aboard the stricken train were being transported by buses to the town of Sturovo on the Hungarian border, ZSSK said.
The injured were transported to hospitals in nearby towns and cities because the local one was closed Thursday after some parts of it were flooded after a heavy rain overnight.
The driver of the train, a Czech national, escaped with light burns, said the Czech Railways, its owner. The other four injured people were travelers aboard the train.
It was not immediately clear what caused the crash, and authorities were investigating. The crossing is protected by gates.
President Peter Pellegrini, who was in Brussels to attend a summit of European Union leaders, offered his condolences to the relatives of the dead.
"I wish the injured a speedy recovery and thank the doctors and rescue teams for their work done," Mr Pellegrini said. "I wish that such catastrophes would avoid Slovakia in the future."
