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Michal Legierski / AP
Rescuers work at the site of a deadly train collision in Szczekociny, southern Poland.
Updated at 6:15 a.m.: One American was among at least 15 killed in a head-on train crash in southern Poland late on Saturday, NBC News reported.
The US Consulate in Krakow told NBC News that the family of the American has been notified, but declined to release and further details on the victim.
At least 14 others died in crash, described as the country's worst in more than two decades.
"Everything indicates that this is one of the most serious railway catastrophes of recent years in our country," Transport Minister Slawomir Nowak told TVN24 in a telephone interview. "There are people who have died, there are many injured people."
The two trains carrying an estimated 350 passengers were heading in opposite directions on the same track when they crashed at high speed in a rural area near the town of Szczechociny. At least 54 injured people were sent to hospitals.
One of the green-and-cream colored carriages of an intercity train traveling to Warsaw had jack-knifed upwards from the force of the crash. Other cars had derailed and were lying on their sides.
"This certainly is the most tragic train catastrophe in our history in many, many years," said Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who arrived at the site of the crash with several other government officials early on Sunday.
Andrzej Grygiel / EPA
Rescuers carry the body of a victim at the scene of a train crash in Poland.
"At the moment we cannot with full responsibility give the final number of fatalities. We should expect at least 14, but we fear this number could rise to 15," he added.
Later the death toll did climb.
Tusk said it was too early to speculate about the cause of the collision, but added that human error could not be excluded.
The fate of the two drivers was not immediately known as the authorities were still identifying the dead bodies.
'I felt the blow'
More than 350 firefighters rushed to the scene, but had to carry their equipment by hand because the trains collided in the middle of a field crossed only by the train tracks.
With the aid of a sniffer dog, rescue workers continued to search for other victims in the mass of mangled steel, where Tusk said they found at least one additional body, most likely dead.
"I felt the blow," an unnamed survivor told public television. "I hit the person before me. The lights went out. Everything flew. We flew over the compartment like bags. We could hear screams. We prayed."
The injured were transported to nearby hospitals. Among the passengers were several Ukrainians along with French and Spanish citizens, but none of them were hospitalized.
One of the trains had been going from Warsaw from to the town of Krakow and the other from the Polish capital to the town of Przemysl.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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Leave a Comment:
Pray that there is no further deaths and pray that the wounded have God-speed recovery. And pray that they will find out the cause of the crash. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Condolences and prayers go to the victims' families and friends.
and all the libiots can think of is high speed rail in the USA...no thanks
I think our technology might be a little more advanced than Polands.
Like in any mass transportation disaster the toll seems staggering, but please note that even in "the worst rail disaster in 20 years" 16 passengers out of 350 died. If you combine all rail traffic in Poland you have probably at least a million people a day travel by train.
Also, there is a massive track upgrade project going on in the entire country (to allow trains travel faster than current 100MPH speed limit) and it was probably the cause os the disaster (trains change tracks very often to go around construction zones).
Either case - condolences to the families and speedy recovery for the survivors.
How do you keep a polish train from crashing? put the window in the front...................too soon?
No not really 2sxe4myshrt, because I see nothing polish about the accident, they hit head-on just like any two trains would, where's the polish in that?
Funny though your joke makes me think of the response the other day to a poor taste joke. That your sick timing has not brought nearly the amount of reaction you would think an ethnic joke of ethnic casualties while still counting would bring. But be a judge and send a private email to friends telling of a black joke about the big 0 and his animal loving mudder and get crucified and labeled a racist. So I guess polish accidental death joke's are a ok with the bammabunch. Next time they'll have to add a heading of more concern, like, 15 dead polish passengers and possibly, possibly because we're not sure if polish trains have them or not, possibly one black porter missing. Then the rightfull attention will be brought to bare on anyone who could possibly be joking about a missing porter at a time like this!
maddy indabuff NY is right. I'm Polish, and there's nothing Polish about the accident. I'd happen anywhere else. 2sxe, it's a poor joke you posted here. If anything, you should've posted condolences. But I don't blame you, you are who you are.
Condolences and prayers to the victims' families and friends.
@2xse4myshrt; hopefully you`ll be in the next wreck and die! You douche, and may your family will be with you too you dick!!! enjoy hell!
the sad news...there were no reports...of terrorist being on board...
Condolences to the family and friends of the victims.
it's a sad deal...somebody messed up....a lot of people lives...are going to be changed forever...
Yeah somebody messed up. Obama, that's who. He should have had the foresight to call the embassy before it happened and let our citizens know that Polish trains are unsafe.
So sad for all the victims. I pray for them. So this accident is Obama's fault. I lived in Poland and road many trains and they are safe. Some people blame Obama for everything.
Randy, I hope you were speaking tongue-in-cheek. If you weren't, you are the biggest, freaking, insane, lunatic who has ever posted on a blog. Been in that beautiful country and rode the trains and enjoyed every minute. In fact, if this country had a transportation system like Europe, we would have no foreign oil problems. More than 75% of travel miles in Poland are by ELECTRIC powered trains. Your mother should have been using birth control, idiot.
ok Billy, and how is electricity produced in Poland? Mainly coal. 58% comes from solid fuel (coal), 24% from oil, and only 5% renewables. So you liberal loving ELECTRIC ignorants, are clueless to your own hypocrisy.
Drill baby, too bad the right is afraid of change and loss of power from their oil
buddies. 140 years ago the world didn't rely on oil and if the right wasn't so
afraid of shifting from the status quo renewables would be far more advanced
than they are now. Since electricity CAN be produced from other means besides
fossil based material, it is the best alternative to get away from oil and our
dependence on foreign oil. If the infustructure for an all electric society exists, the switch from fossil based fuel is much easier. Too bad you're too blind or ignorant to realize that.
I'm glad the trains were not the fast Eurostars...The death count would have been much higher.
What? No God haters here yet...........Oh yeah, give it time. I mean, it did say in the story that they PRAYED! How stupid of them..............
Condolences to the family and friends of the victims.
i wonder how two trains got on the same track ...headed at each other...somebody got some explaining to do...
Doesn't anyone else find the statement " the trains were traveling in the OPPOSITE directions when they crashed" If that were really true then obiviously they could not have hit each other! Yes, I know what the writer meant,but it still sucks.
given towns in story trains traveled to, crash never should have occured, don't MSNBC have fact checkers?
Condolences for victims'families and speedy recovery for the injured. Berliner Morgenpost reported that the train goin to Krakow was on the wrong track- due to maintenance by railway workers. There are 16 confirmed dead (is.fi) and over 50 injured-some seriously. There are 400 firemen,100 police and Poland's PM Donald Tusk at the scene of the accident.
Something that bothers me is how the other 14 passengers were kind of an after thought in the beginning. "An American died in a wreck in Poland, oh and so did 14 others...' For some reason, that kinda bothers me,
MSNBC has a predominantly American audience. On a Ukrainian website I just visited, it focused on the number of Ukrainians who died as I'm sure France and Spain are focused on their fatalities. Seems logical.
Did you hear the one about the 2 pollack train drivers?
No. What is it about?
No jfhahaha I didn't hear that one but now I know a guy who doesn't know a difference between pollack and polack.
We had the same situation in Chatsworth, California a few years ago. Once that happened, the authorities introduced a new warning system that disallows two trains to be on the same track. It is probably a human error, but the consequences are significant. Condolences to all victims and their families.
This writer needs to do better research before writing this story. The first town is spelled wrong..spelled correctly under the picture, but differently in the article. The last sentence says, "One of the trains had been going from Warsaw from to the town of Krakow and the other from the Polish capital to the town of Przemysl."
Both Przemysl and Szcekociny are SOUTH of Warsaw. If both trains were headed south, how could they have a head on collision????? Very poor reporting here. More investigation needed.
This headline reminds me of one from Not The Boston Globe:
N-Blast Hits New York, Hub Man Injured
someone fcked up,how do 2 trains hit head on ,someone was either texting or asleep at the wheel and not watching the red signals ,or they was "driving my train ,high on cocaine"
I took a train to Warsaw on the same line about 4 weeks ago. They were working on the tracks and trains had to wait to give way according to some priority system they obviously have. Since one train was an InterCity and the other not, I suppose someone made a mistake and released a train that should have been waiting thus leading to this horrible crash.
My prayers and thoughts are with the victims and their families.
How do two trains which "..were heading in opposite directions on the same track..." collide head on? Would't they have to have been "...heading in towards each other on the same track..." for there to be a collision?
One traveling East, the other traveling West. That is opposite.
Lucalla, I came to the same conclusion, one also could have said "the trains were traveling in the SAME direction (towards each other) when they hit. Neither statement is correct,or they both are......
And the Obamanation regime wants us to be "Just like the european countries".... Isn't that just so sweet. Why would I want to go back in time so to be at the level of them???????????????????//
God bless the United States...................................
So when was the last time you went to Europe? Just how backwards do you think most of those European countries are? Outdoorsman You have got to get out more.
The USA is backwards, not Europe. Right wingers are partying likes its 1600.
Interstate 75 Car Crashes: Florida Pileup Kills At Least 10
30,000 people a year die in car crashes.
50,000 people a year die in USA from gun violence.
Some of the comments are very stupid.Say a prayer for those injure.