Fifteen killed and scores injured as two trains collide head-on in worst Polish rail disaster in living memory

Two trains running on the same track collided head-on in southern Poland last night, killing 15 people and leaving 56 injured.

The accident, which is the worst train disaster in Poland in more than 20 years, happened late last night on the Warsaw-Krakow mainline in the small town of Szczekociny.

As the severity of the crash became known army helicopters were deployed to the scene to race the most seriously injured to hospital while a fleet of 450 emergency vehicles, 100 policemen and dozens of volunteer firemen clawed at the wreckage.

Officials have said it is too early to say what had caused the crash and Polish prosecutors have opened an investigation into how the head-on collision happened.
The two mangled trains, comprising 10 carriages in total, were carrying an estimated 350 passengers at the time of the crash.
Several of the passengers were foreigners, including people from Ukraine, Spain and France, but none of them appeared to be among the dead or badly injured.

'The rescue is difficult and complicated,' firefighter Jaroslaw Wojtasik told Polish television.
'The damage to the wagons is huge. We have contact with victims. We are approaching very cautiously

Home News U.S. Sport TV&Showbiz Femail Health Science Money RightMinds Coffee Break Travel Columnists News Home Arts Headlines Pictures Most read News Board My Profile Logout Login Find a Job M&S Wine Our Papers Feedback Sunday, Mar 04 2012 12PM 7°C 3PM 3°C 5-Day Forecast Fifteen killed and scores injured as two trains collide head-on in worst Polish rail disaster in living memory
One of the trains was on the wrong side of the tracks on the Warsaw-Krakow mainline
Polish prosecutors have opened an investigation but officials have said it is too early to say what caused the crash
'Even more dramatic than the pictures are the facts' said Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk
By Jill Reilly

Last updated at 11:39 AM on 4th March 2012

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Two trains running on the same track collided head-on in southern Poland last night, killing 15 people and leaving 56 injured.

The accident, which is the worst train disaster in Poland in more than 20 years, happened late last night on the Warsaw-Krakow mainline in the small town of Szczekociny.
As the severity of the crash became known army helicopters were deployed to the scene to race the most seriously injured to hospital while a fleet of 450 emergency vehicles, 100 policemen and dozens of volunteer firemen clawed at the wreckage.

Tragic: Fifteen people were killed and up to 50 injured when the two trains collided head-on late last night on the Warsaw-Krakow mainline in the small town of Szczekociny

Head-on collision: The crash happened after one of the trains ended up on the wrong side of the tracks and army helicopters were deployed to the scene to race the most seriously injured to hospital

Mangled wreck: Three coaches are reported to be especially damaged, and the rescue operation focused on finding passengers there, although rescue workers ended their search for the wounded early this morning

Investigation: Officials have said it is too early to say what had caused the crash and Polish prosecutors have opened an investigation into how the head-on collision happened

Officials have said it is too early to say what had caused the crash and Polish prosecutors have opened an investigation into how the head-on collision happened.
The two mangled trains, comprising 10 carriages in total, were carrying an estimated 350 passengers at the time of the crash.
Several of the passengers were foreigners, including people from Ukraine, Spain and France, but none of them appeared to be among the dead or badly injured.

'The rescue is difficult and complicated,' firefighter Jaroslaw Wojtasik told Polish television.
'The damage to the wagons is huge. We have contact with victims. We are approaching very cautiously.'

Rescue effort: The two mangled trains, comprising 10 carriages in total, were carrying an estimated 350 passengers at the time of the crash

Shocking: Prime Minister Donald Tusk, left, called the accident the most tragic train catastrophe in Poland in recent years after visiting the site in the early hours of today as bodies were being retrieved from the wreckage


Surveying the damage: A fleet of 450 emergency vehicles, 100 policemen and dozens of volunteer firemen clawed at the wreckage
Three coaches are reported to be especially damaged, and the rescue operation focused on finding passengers there.
Rescue workers ended their search for the wounded and prosecutors opened their investigation early Sunday.

One passenger estimated that his train was travelling about 120km/h (75 mph), when it started braking very sharply.

'Then we felt a powerful impact, and we were thrown about the compartment,' the passenger told TVN24.
Andrzej Pawlowski, a member of the board of the state railway company PKP, said in an interview that one of the trains, which was traveling south from Warsaw to Krakow, should not have been on the track.

The other train, headed from the eastern city of Przemysl to Warsaw, was on the correct track, Mr Pawlowski said.

It wasn't immediately clear how the southbound train ended up on the wrong track.

Prime Minister Donald Tusk called the accident the most tragic train catastrophe in Poland in recent years after visiting the site in the early hours of today.

'Even more dramatic than the pictures are the facts,' Mr Tusk said. 'This is our most tragic train disaster in many, many years.'

He arrived at the scene early on Sunday morning, with three other cabinet ministers.
Maintenance work was being carried out on one of the tracks where the collision occurred.

4 March 2012

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2109981/Polish-train-crash-15-killed-2-trains-collide-head-worst-rail-disaster-living-memory.html#ixzz1o9dEThz0