Slovakian train and bus accident with seven dead probably caused by human error, says minister

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia — A collision between a EuroCity train and a bus in southern Slovakia that killed seven people was likely caused by human error, Slovakia’s transport minister said Friday.

About 200 people were on board the train traveling from the Czech capital Prague through Slovakia to the Hungarian capital Budapest when the accident occurred shortly after 5 p.m. (15:00 GMT) on Thursday at a level crossing near the town of Nove Zamky.

In the accident, the train’s locomotive caught fire, while the bus was badly damaged and broke into two pieces.

All fatalities occurred on board the bus.

Minister Jozef Ráž said that there had been heavy rainfall in the region on Wednesday, the day before the accident, which had led to the railway line being closed to all traffic.

Preliminary results of the investigation showed that no technical or systemic errors had occurred, Ráž said.

“It was probably a human error that caused the train to end up on a track where it didn’t belong,” he said.

Five injured people from the bus were taken to hospitals in nearby towns. The local hospital was closed on Thursday due to flooding caused by heavy rains overnight.