Czech Republic train crash: Three people killed and more than 50 injured

Czech Railways said an international high-speed train that connects the western city of Plzen with Munich in Germany and a local passenger train were involved in the collision.

Emergency services at the scene following the fatal rail collision. Pic: Plzen Fire and Rescue
Image: Emergency services at the scene following the fatal train crash. Pic: Plzen Fire and Rescue
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Three people have died and more than 50 others were injured when a fast train from Munich collided with a commuter passenger train in the Czech Republic.

Eight people were seriously injured with a small number of passengers being transferred to hospital by helicopter.

Another 50 people suffered minor injuries in the crash near the western Czech town of Domazlice, the regional rescue service said.

More than 40 people were injured in the crash near the western Czech town of Domazlice. Pic: Plzen Fire and Rescue
Image: More than 50 people were injured in the collision near the western Czech town of Domazlice. Pic: Plzen Fire and Rescue

The authorities said the Munich-to-Prague express train ran through a stop signal and collided with the local commuter service.

A police spokeswoman said the three dead were the drivers of the two trains and a passenger, all of them Czech.

Footage on Czech Television showed the damaged driver's cabin of the fast train's locomotive, as well as the front part of the local train.

Both trains remained upright on or close to the tracks.

More on Czech Republic

Czech Railways confirmed an international high-speed train that connects the western city of Plzen with Munich in Germany and a local passenger train were involved in the collision.

The accident happened shortly after 8am local time near the village of Milavce. Pic: Plzen Fire and Rescue
Image: The crash happened shortly after 8am local time near the village of Milavce. Pic: Plzen Fire and Rescue

CTK news agency said the emergency services deployed four helicopters to the scene of the crash.

The accident happened shortly after 8am local time near the village of Milavce, which is 140km (87 miles) southwest of Prague.

Transport minister Karel Havlicek said human error was likely to have caused the crash.

"The situation is serious," he added.