A head-on train crash in Vienna, Austria between two packed commuter trains during morning rush-hour in Vienna on Monday left several dozen people injured including five in serious condition, according to reports.
"Two of the seriously injured are in a life-threatening condition, one of whom is one of the train drivers ... In total 41 people were hurt," emergency services spokesman Ronald Packert told AFP.
"One good thing was that the crash happened right next to an emergency services station, meaning that our people were there in seconds," he added.
At least 25 fire engines were a part of the large rescue operation that also included a helicopter, multiple ambulances, and a special accident train. There were a numerous amount of injured that had to be extracted from the train wreckage using specialized cranes. One person was trapped in the mangled wreckage and needed to be cut out.
Austrian Railways spokeswoman Sarah Nettel told Channel News Asia that the head-on train crash occurred because of a technical error. One of the trains was given a signal to proceed when it should have waited for the other train.
