Train crash leaves 57 people injured after head-on collision in Czech Republic

An express train collided with another passenger train in the southern Czech Republic on Thursday, injuring dozens of people, officials said.

The accident took place near the city of Ceske Budejovice at around 6.20am.

A total of 57 people suffered mostly light injuries but two were seriously injured, the regional rescue service said.

But a hospital in Ceske Budejovice later said five people it admitted had serious injuries.

The traffic between Ceske Budejovice and the city of Plzen was halted and was not expected to resume until the afternoon.

The Fire Service of the Czech Republic shared photos and videos of the scene on social media, showing a large emergency personnel presence. 

Transport Minister Martin Kupka said on X that the crash was still under investigation.

He added that preliminary information showed one of the trains likely passed a signal in the stop position.

Martin Kavka, a spokesman for the rail operator Sprava zeleznic, said all passengers have been evacuated from the trains.

He declined to say how the crash happened, adding that the investigation was still ongoing.

It comes just a month after a high-speed train carrying hundreds of passengers dramatically ploughed into a fruit lorry at a level crossing.

CCTV footage shows the lorry driver bizarrely reverse onto the tracks as the barriers close in the village of Meteren, central Netherlands, injuring five people inside the 10-wheeler truck.

Dozens of pears could be seen raining down from the sky and scattering across the line before 400 passengers were safely evacuated.

The crash took place around 11.30am on October 30, with pictures in the aftermath showing the fresh green fruit squashed up across the front of the train. 

Thousands of bits of debris go flying alongside the pears after the train hurtles straight through the fruit-bearing lorry.

No train had been in sight when the lorry initially passed through, with 30 per cent of the huge motor safely across.

But a car on the opposite side soon approaches, with the lorry driver wrongly assuming they have enough time to reverse back across the tracks to the other side.

The safety alarms began blaring during the attempt and the barriers terrifyingly come down on both sides, leaving a third of the lorry still trapped.

The panicked driver attempts to move forward, putting themselves in even more danger as half the truck is then trapped on the lines.

Two of the barriers are broken as the lorry attempts to manoeuvre itself to safety.

However, it is to no avail as the train flies past, smashes into the lorry, and rips open an onboard bag of pears.