Originally published on July 30, 2013
A train crash in Switzerland on Monday night has left one dead and more than 30 people injured, according to Reuters. The two regional trains collided head-on at Granges-Pres-Marnand in the Canton of Vaud, about 30 miles southwest of the Swiss capital, Bern, at around 7 p.m.
One train had been travelling south to Lausanne, and the other was coming north from the city, heading for Payerne. About 40 people were on the trains.
Emergency workers recovered the body of one of the drivers from the wreckage late Tuesday morning, the BBC reported. Five people among the 30 injured were in serious condition; one was helicoptered to a hospital in Lausanne. The driver who survived was among the injured.
It is not yet known what caused the collision.
One of the passengers who escaped the incident with only a minor bump on his head, told French newspaper L'Est Républicain that he thought the train was travelling at between 30 and 40 kilometers per hour before he heard the train horn. The man in his 40s said it felt like a big explosion, then luggage racks fell down and people screamed. He said the passengers were trapped inside because the doors wouldn't open, but help soon arrived and freed them.
The passenger who regularly travels the route between Lausanne and Payerne said he had been travelling in one of the first few cars of the train and that when he got it, the front of the train was crumpled like an accordion.
