At least six people were killed after an international express train collided with a bus on a level crossing in southern Slovakia, rescuers said.
The accident occurred near the town of Nove Zamky, about 80 km east of the capital Bratislava, according to a post by emergency services on Facebook.
News agencies report that at least five other people were injured in the incident, which happened at around 5pm local time (4pm BST).
The bus and train drivers were among the injured and taken to hospital, with the former in critical condition.
All of those who died are believed to have been people who were on board the Arriva bus, which authorities say was split in two by the impact.
Photos showed the locomotive on fire and passengers running to safety along the tracks.
“I am afraid that the number of people killed in this accident will increase,” Petra Klimesova, a spokeswoman for the rescue services, told AFP.
About 200 people were on the train and nine on the bus at the time of the collision, authorities said at a news conference.
The train was the regular EuroCity 279 service travelling from Prague to Budapest via Bratislava.
It was operated by a Czech Railways locomotive pulling Slovak Railways wagons.
Czech Railways praised the actions of its driver, who it said prevented injuries to train passengers by acting quickly to avert the derailment.
He reportedly jumped into the control room seconds before impact and suffered burns in the ensuing fire.
According to an Arriva spokesperson quoted in Slovak media, the bus driver had more than thirty years of experience.
Local media published video footage of passengers carrying luggage next to a partially burning train as thick grey smoke rose into the sky.
According to unconfirmed reports in Slovak media, the crossing had lights and barriers, but these had been left out of use due to a recent storm.
It is unclear whether they were functioning properly at the time of the collision.
Slovak Railways has not commented on the allegations.
Interior Minister Matus Sutaj Estok, present at the scene, wrote on social media that “a little inattention is enough and life can change in a hundredth of a second – forever”.
“Let this sad event remind us all that we must pay attention to safety on the roads and at level crossings. »
Passenger Katarina Molnarova told AFP that as she was leaving Nove Zamky station, she felt and heard a crash and a bang.
“After a few minutes we were able to go down,” said the 43-year-old beautician.
“We saw that the front part of the train was on fire.”
She added that there was “no screaming or panic” and that passengers took their luggage and walked to the road.
Five ambulances and three air ambulances were dispatched to the scene, emergency services said.
