Train collision injures 21 in North Hungary

Budapest (MTI) – Twenty-one people were hospitalised after two trains collided head-on between Acsa-Erdokurt and Nogradkovesd, in northern Hungary, on Sunday, the National Ambulance Services (OMSZ) said.

Two trains, one headed to Balassagyarmat and the other to Aszod (both in northern Hungary), collided shortly after 8.30am, Imre Kavalecz, spokesman for rail information service Mavinform said. The trains did not derail, Kavalecz said. The trains were carrying a total of 30-40 passengers, he said.

An investigation carried out by the Transport Safety Bureau found that the Aszod-Balassagyarmat line is single-track, meaning trains have to wait on a passing point for trains travelling in the other direction. Because the train travelling from Aszod was delayed, the passing point for the two trains was changed from Nogradkovesd to Acsa-Erdokurt. The train from Aszod, however, did not wait for the other train at Acsa-Erdokurt, leading to the collision.

Karolina Toth of OMSZ said 19 people suffered minor injuries, such as bruises, one man suffered a broken leg and a woman broken ribs.

Csaba Csonka, a senior doctor at the hospital in Balassagyarmat where 14 of the injured are being treated, told public news channel M1 that passengers were able to brace themselves, as the ticket inspector had warned them of the impending collision.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters