Slovak train and bus collision that killed 7 was likely caused by human error, minister says

BRATISLAVA, Slovakia (AP) — A collision between a EuroCity train with a bus in southern Slovakia that left seven people dead was likely caused by human error, the Slovak transport minister said on Friday.

Some 200 people were aboard the train traveling from the Czech capital of Prague crossing through Slovakia on its way to the Hungarian capital of Budapest when the accident took place shortly Thursday after 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) at a crossing near the town of Nove Zamky.

The train engine caught fire after the crash while the bus was badly damaged and broke into two parts.

All of the deaths were aboard the bus.

The minister, Jozef Ráž, said that heavy rains hit the area on Wednesday, the day before the crash, forcing the closure of the railroad track to all traffic.

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

“It was likely an individual human error which caused the train to appear on a track where it wasn’t supposed to be,” he said.

Five injured people from the bus were transported to hospitals in nearby towns and cities. The local hospital was closed Thursday because of flooding from the heavy rain overnight.