Nineteen people have been taken to hospital after a train hit a truck at an unguarded railway crossing in south-western Poland.

Eleven people were killed and one was injured when a small plane carrying parachutists crashed and burst into flames shortly after take-off in southern Poland, firefighters said.

Heavy thunderstorms and strong winds have pounded Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, tearing the roofs off homes and bringing down trees.

A FAST-MOVING fire tore through a three-storey building housing homeless families in north-western Poland early yesterday, killing at least 21 people and injuring 20 more, including an infant, officials said.