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Polish president announces two days of national mourning following rail crash


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Polish president announces two days of national morning following rail crash

2012-03-05 23:53:31 GMT+7 (ICT)

WARSAW, Poland (BNO NEWS) -- Polish President Bronislaw Komorowski on Sunday evening announced two days of national mourning after the country's deadliest rail accident in more than two decades.

The accident occurred at around 9 p.m. local time on Saturday when a passenger train collided head-on with another passenger train near the town of Szczekociny in Silesia province. One of the trains was traveling from the Polish capital of Warsaw toward Cracow while the other was traveling from Pryzemysl to Warsaw.

As a result of the accident, sixteen people were killed while 57 others were injured, making it the country's deadliest rail accident since two trains collided in the Warsaw suburb of Ursus in 1990, also killing sixteen people. The country's worst train crash happened in August 1980, killing 67 people.

Komorowski on Sunday evening announced a national mourning on Monday and Tuesday. "Our thoughts and prayers today are with all those who were affected by this tragedy, with those who died and those who suddenly lost loved ones," Komorowski and his wife wrote in a book of condolences on Monday.

While Poland mourns the victims, a Polish railway official told the Warsaw Voice on Monday that the Cracow-bound train was traveling on the wrong track at the time of the accident. The trains were traveling at high speeds, causing one of the trains to jump upwards after the impact. Three train cars were completely destroyed, several were derailed while others ended up on their sides.

Interior Minister Jacek Cichocki said emergency teams, which consisted of more than 450 firefighters and 100 police officers, believe they have recovered all of the victims with the help of sniffer dogs. Nine of the victims have already been identified, including one American woman. Several other foreigners, including Ukrainian, Moldavian and Czech nationals, were among those injured.

Authorities are still investigating why the Cracow-bound train was on the wrong track.

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-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-03-05

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