7-29-13 – Location – Switzerland – Incident – Head On Train Collision

At least 35 people have been injured, five of them seriously, in a collision between two trains in western Switzerland.

The crash happened in Granges-pres-Marnand in Vaud canton, about 50km (30 miles) south-west of the capital, Bern.

The regional trains collided head-on in the early evening.

The driver of one of the trains was still unaccounted for and thought to be inside the wreckage, police spokesman Jean-Christophe Sauterel said.

“These are regional trains. The speeds are a little lower and even if one deeply regrets the likely loss of life of one person as well as five serious injuries, the situation could have been much more catastrophic,” he said.

The most seriously injured were taken to hospital by helicopter or ambulance. Others were treated at the scene.

One of the trains involved was bound for Lausanne, about 38km to the south, while the other was travelling north from the same city, AFP news agency reports.

Traffic was interrupted on a stretch of the line which links the cities of Palezieux and Payerne, the Swiss federal railway company said.

Investigators are at the scene to try to determine the cause of the crash.

Switzerland’s rail system is considered among the best and safest in the world.

Earlier this month, 79 people were killed in a high-speed derailment in north-western Spain.