Twenty hurt in train collision

A passenger train carrying dozens of people crashed into a freight train near Vienna today, injuring 20 people, three seriously, according to a reports.

The passenger train was travelling at about 45 mph when it crashed into the parked freight train near a station in Sierndorf, a village about 15 miles northwest of Vienna, the Austria Press Agency reported.

The news agency quoted an unnamed employee of Austrian Federal Railways who attributed the collision to “human error,” saying an initial investigation shows that the freight train – which was laden with turnips – had been left on the wrong track.

The passenger train with about 40 aboard was travelling to Vienna from Retz, a town near the border with the Czech Republic in the province of Lower Austria. As the conductor approached the freight train, he threw on an emergency brake and ducked under the control desk. He was among the three who were seriously injured.

According to the Red Cross, most of the injured suffered only light injuries, APA said.