Two trains collide in Czech Republic, injuring dozens

Two passenger trains in the Czech Republic collided on Thursday, injuring dozens of people, four of them seriously, officials and local media reported.

Emergency services said the crash had occurred in a region around 132 km (82 miles) south of the capital Prague. Images showed mainly damage to the front ends of the trains where they hit head-on.

Firefighters had to free the driver of one of the trains, the CTK news agency reported.

A spokeswoman for a regional hospital told CTK that four people had been admitted with serious injuries.

Nine people suffered moderate injuries and 25 others were lightly hurt, the region's governor, Martin Kuba, told Czech television.

Transport Minister Martin Kupka said on X that the crash was still under investigation but preliminary information suggested that one of the trains had probably passed a signal in the stop position.