Authorities are investigating the cause of the crash that left 42 people injured.

07:53, Thu, Nov 20, 2025 Updated: 08:17, Thu, Nov 20, 2025

Czech Republic train crash

Dozens of people have been injured after two trains crashed into each other (Image: South Bohemian Region Fire Rescue Service)

An express train collided with another passenger train in the Czech Republic on Thursday, leaving 42 pepole injured, officials said. The accident occurred near the city of České Budějovice at around 6.20am. Two people were seriously injured while about 40 suffered light injuries, the regional rescue service said.

Firefighters and paramedics rushed to the scene, roughly 100 miles south of Prague, to discover dozens of injures passengers. Five people were admitted to hospital with serious injuries, while the rest were treated by medics, a spokeswoman for a regional hospital told news agency CTK. 

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Preliminary findings showed that one of the trains likely went past a signal in the stop position, transport minister Martin Kupka said, thought the incident remains under investigation.

The traffic between Ceske Budejovice and the city of Plzen was halted and was not expected to resume until the afternoon. 

The Fire Service of the Czech Republic shared photos and videos of the scene on social media, showing a large emergency personnel presence.

It wrote on X: "Passengers from both trains are being evacuated. Triage and treatment of the injured are underway in cooperation with the EMS and the Police of the Czech Republic. Evacuation buses are on site."

The fire service added that a phone line had been set up to help family members of those on the train get more information about the incident.

It said: "In connection with the accident, an info line 950 230 835 has been established, intended primarily for relatives and close ones who need to verify whether their family member was a participant in the event, and to obtain information about the hospitals to which the injured were transported.

"Psychologists from the Fire Rescue Service are also on site."