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Salvage work near the Czech town of Milavče
Photo: Miroslav Chaloupka / imago images / CTK Photo
The deformed remnants of the trains illustrate the severity of the collision: In the Czech Republic, after the collision of a German express train with a regional railcar, salvage work is in progress.
On Thursday, a crane arrived at the scene of the accident, which was supposed to lift the 80-ton locomotive back onto the tracks for transport to Germany.
Rain and the muddy ground made it difficult to work on the single-track route near the village of Milavče.
Replacement buses were in use in local and long-distance transport.
The Munich-Prague express train and an oncoming regional railcar collided head-on on Wednesday morning.
The two Czech train drivers and a woman in the railcar were killed.
Ten seriously injured no longer in mortal danger
According to updated information from the emergency services, more than 60 people were injured.
All ten seriously injured people who are treated in clinics in Prague and Pilsen (Plzen) are now out of danger.
Ten Germans with moderate injuries had been brought to Bavaria for treatment.
Tobias Muhr from the Bavarian Red Cross praised the cooperation with the Czech colleagues.
Once a year there are cross-border exercises.
"That has paid off," said Muhr, who was one of the first rescuers at the scene of the accident.
According to initial findings, the driver of the »alex« train from the private provider Länderbahn disregarded a stop signal, but braked at the last moment.
According to a company spokesman, there were around 20 passengers on board.
The German train started early in the morning in Munich, shortly before the Czech border, the staff of the Czech railways Ceské Drahy took over.
Allianz Pro Schiene: The Czech Republic has some catching up to do with security systems
The police are now determining whether a human error or a technical defect was responsible for the collision.
Accidents happen again and again on Czech railways.
The security technology is considered out of date in many places.
Only a year ago two trains collided head-on in the Ore Mountains near the German border.
When it comes to the infrastructure for safety systems on the rails, the Czech Republic has some catching up to do, said the German association Allianz pro Schiene.
The property damage of the accident is estimated at more than four million euros.
fek / dpa