1 of 2 | Two trains collided between Hilleroed and Kagerup at Isteroedvejen, Denmark, Thursday morning. At least 19 are injured. Photo by Steven Knap/EPA
April 23 (UPI) — Two passenger trains crashed head-on in Denmark on Thursday leaving 18 injured, five of them critically, law enforcement officials said.
The trains collided at 6:29 a.m. CEST, traveling on a line that connects Hillerød and Kagerup in the North Zealand region of northeast Denmark. Hillerød is about 19 miles from Copenhagen. There were 37 people aboard. North Zealand police said the trains were traveling fast, but the exact speed wasn’t known.
No cause of the crash has been determined, said Tim Ole Simonsen of the Greater Copenhagen Fire Department, but he told Danish TV that all the injured were taken to the hospital by either ambulance or air.
“I am deeply shaken and shocked, and my thoughts are with all those involved,” Gribskov Mayor Trine Egetved posted on Facebook. “The local track is used by many Gribskov citizens, employees and pupils. Emergency services are working at full pressure, and we are trying from the central team to get an overview of what has happened more accurately and make sure that everyone gets the help they need.”
Fire and rescue service leader Christoffer Buhl Martekilde told reporters, “The two trains collided head-on, causing large damage to them and sending broken glass flying everywhere.”
North Zealand Police Inspector Morten Pedersen said his agency will work with Denmark’s Accident Investigation Board to find out what happened, the BBC reported.
Klaus Jensen, accident board manager, told TV2 that investigators were exploring “all hypotheses,” including “a failure in the signalling system or whether there may have been a failure due to human factors,” the BBC reported.
Several train staff were injured, said Claus Pedersson, safety director at Lokaltog, the Danish railway company, to Danish broadcaster DR.
He said the crash was “one of the worst we can imagine in the railway industry.”
“We see accidents like this happen from time to time, and the most important thing is that we learn from it,” Pedersson said.
Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said in a statement that she was “very moved by the terrible train accident on the Gribskov line this morning.” She told TV2, “Several people are in a critical condition. My thoughts go out to the injured, their relatives and everyone affected by the accident.”
Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said he offered help for the incident response, but Danish police declined the offer.
