BUDAPEST, HUNGARY (AP) – A train derailed and overturned after striking a vehicle in southern Hungary early yesterday, leaving five people dead and others injured, police said.
The accident occurred just before 7am in the town of Mindszent. Police said a flatbed truck carrying workers drove onto the train tracks and was struck by a train, which derailed from the force of the collision.
Seven men were travelling in the truck at the time of the collision, according to Hungarian state news agency MTI. Five of them were killed and two others taken to hospital with serious head and limb injuries, the police said.
In a statement, Hungarian state railways indicated that all those killed had been travelling in the truck. It said that 22 people were on the train at the time of the collision. Two passengers were seriously hurt and eight others suffered mild injuries.
Ten ambulances and a helicopter were dispatched to the scene, according to a spokesperson for the National Ambulance Service.
The Csongrad-Csanad county police said they had closed the entire width of the road during the on-site inspection and rescue. Traffic was diverted to surrounding streets.
