Train-Bus Crash Kills 11 In Central Slovakia

The accident occured at around 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) near the central Slovak town of Brezno.

At least 11 Slovaks died when a bus collided with a passenger train while trying to cross a railway track in Slovakia on Saturday, police said.

The accident occured at around 9 a.m. (0800 GMT) near the central Slovak town of Brezno, police spokeswoman Maria Faltaniova said. The fatalities were all passengers on the bus.

"According to preliminary information, there were 36 people on the bus. We cannot give any more information at the moment," Faltaniova told Reuters.

The state news agency TASR said 20 people were taken to hospital, some of them with serious injuries. The train passengers had only light injuries, it said.

TASR reported a rescue service official as saying the bus was carrying people on their way to a skiing trip. It said the railway crossing had only light signals with no bars to stop vehicles from passing.