4 killed, 26 injured in collision between two trains in Czech Republic

At least four people were killed and 26 others injured when a passenger train collided with a freight train in Pardubice, Czech Republic on Wednesday evening, the regional governor said.

After the incident, the rescue team reached the spot and started searching for the passengers.

Czech Republic Prime Minister Petr Fiala expressed condolences in a post on microblogging site X, saying: “The collision of two trains in Pardubice is a great misfortune. We are thinking about all the victims and the injured. My heartfelt condolences to all the bereaved.”

The accident took place in Pardubice, part of the country’s main rail corridor heading east from Prague, according to news agency Reuters.

The passenger train was operated by rail company RegioJet, the governor of the Pardubice region, Martin Netolicky, said on Facebook.

“Several people lost their lives and dozens were injured in the head-on collision between the Regiojet train and a freight train,” he said.

Footage of the accident’s aftermath on news website idnes.cz showed at least one carriage derailed, while police showed a queue of emergency service vehicles and a helicopter on its axe handle.

A spokesman for the railway department’s fire department told Czech TV that several passengers were also seriously injured.