Six seriously injured after freight train collides with passenger train near Križevci

Shortly after 10 a.m., a freight train collided with a passenger train between the Sveti Ivan Žabno and Gradec railway stations.

The Ministry of Health said six passengers were seriously injured and 13 suffered minor injuries. Medical assistance was provided at hospitals in Bjelovar and Koprivnica, while some of the injured were transferred to hospitals in Zagreb.

There were 27 passengers on board the passenger train.

Seven injured people were treated at Bjelovar General Hospital. The most seriously injured is a young woman who is in intensive care but remains in stable condition. According to the hospital director, none of the other six patients suffered serious injuries.

Koprivnica-Križevci County Prefect Tomislav Golubić thanked emergency services for their swift response following the collision.

"I must give special thanks to the fire departments in Križevci and Đurđevac, as well as all the volunteer firefighters from the Sveti Ivan area who contributed 50 firefighters to the rescue effort. I would especially like to thank a local man for arriving first at the scene with his personal forklift, making it easier for emergency services to tend to the injured," Golubić said.

Damir Lončarić of Croatian Railways said his thoughts were with the injured passengers and crew members. He added that the cause and circumstances of the collision are being investigated.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Croatian Veterans Tomo Medved, who later arrived at the scene, thanked all emergency services for responding professionally and responsibly to the accident.

Medved said the cause of the collision would be established through an investigation. According to preliminary information, he said, a technical failure or human error could be among the possible causes.

However, he stressed that the final determination of the cause should be left to the competent authorities.