Passenger train plunges into ravine in Serbia-Montenegro; at least 44 killed
03:52:09 EST Jan 24, 2006 PREDRAG MILIC
BIOCE, Serbia-Montenegro (AP) - Emergency teams resumed searching the wreckage of a four-car passenger train Tuesday, which derailed and plunged into a river canyon outside the Montenegrin capital, killing at least 44 people and injuring 198, officials said. The train derailed near Bioce, a village about 15 kilometres northeast of Podgorica, shortly after 4 p.m. on Monday, as it emerged from a tunnel above the Moraca River, police said. Interior Minister Jusuf Kalomperovic said initial reports indicated the train's brakes may have failed. At least 250 passengers, many of them schoolchildren returning from a ski trip, were believed to be on the train when it crashed, in what was among the deadliest European train accidents in 25 years. Victims cried out for help from the ravine, where four train cars lay smashed. Darkness in the densely forested area was hampering rescue efforts. Torn bodies were entangled in the mangled red train cars and strewn around the nearby patches of thick woodland. "The train simply went wild, out of control," said a man as blood poured down his forehead. "I was fine because I was in a back compartment, those in the front got the worst of it." Deputy Prime Minister Miroslav Ivanisevic told reporters that the government's casualty figures stood at 39 killed and 135 wounded, but he warned that the numbers could rise as emergency crews continue to reach victims. He described the crash "as the worst rail accident in the history of Montenegro." Miodrag Djurovic, the head of the main Podgorica hospital, said another five passengers died overnight and that 198 injured people, 90 of them children, were treated in the hospital. Montenegro's transport minister, Andrija Lompar, resigned because of the accident, Ivanisevic said. A three-day mourning period was announced for the victims. The train engine driver was arrested under the suspicion of negligence. Police, medical workers and volunteers were pulling bodies from the 100-metre ravine. Investigative judge Zoran Radovic said the entire train fell into the ravine. "It was horrible, I saw many dead and wounded around me," said one passenger from Hungary, Karman Chofu. The train was en route from the northeastern town of Bijelo Polje to the Montenegrin coastal city of Bar when it derailed near Podgorica. "I had fallen asleep when a loud noise woke me," said Stanislava Bukovic, 60, one of the injured passengers, as she was carried away on a stretcher. "Then I felt something hit my head and lost consciousness. The next thing I knew I was on this stretcher." Montenegrin President Filip Vujanovic visited the scene of the accident and called it a catastrophe. Visiting the Podgorica hospital, Montenegrin Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic said the emergency crews had "reacted as well as could be expected in such a harsh and inaccessible terrain." "We did all we could, but in many cases that was not enough to save those tragically killed," he said. Other deadly train accidents in Europe in recent decades included the June 1998 derailment of a high-speed train travelling from Munich to Hamburg, which killed 96 people; and a crash in a dead-end tunnel at Moorgate Underground station in central London that killed 43 in February 1975.
© The Canadian Press, 2006
A passenger train carrying at least 250 people, many of whom were children, derailed in Serbia-Montenegro and drove into a ravine Tuesday afternoon.

Close to 200 have been injured and the death toll has risen to 44. Most of the passengers were schoolchildren returning from a ski trip.

"The accident occurred because of a failure of the train's braking system," said Interior Minister Jusuf Kalomperovic.

At about 4 p.m. the four-car train derailed near Bioče, a small village nearly 15 kilometers northeast of Podgorica as it was emerging from a tunnel above the Moraca River.

"The train simply went wild, out of control," said one injured passenger. "I was fine because I was in a back compartment, those in the front got the worst of it."

"It was horrible, I saw many dead and wounded around me," said another passenger from Hungary, Karman Chofu.

"I had fallen asleep when a loud noise woke me," said Stanislava Bukovic, 60, another injured passenger.

Miodrag Djurovic, the head of the main Podgorica hospital, stated that another five passengers had died overnight. Djurovic also said at least 198 people, 90 of them children, have been treated at the hospital. "The children's hospital admitted 90 children, 34 of them are still there, six have undergone surgery," Djurovic said.

Earlier Deputy Prime Minister Miroslav Ivanisevic told the media that the death toll stood at 30 and the amount injured at 135, but said those figures could rise as rescuers continue to reach victims. Ivanisevic described the wreck "as the worst rail accident in the history of Montenegro," Ivanisevic also said.

President Filip Vujanovic and Prime Minister, Milo Djukanovic also rushed to the site. "A terrible tragedy happened at Bioče and everything is being done to reduce the number of casualties as much as possible," Vujanovic told reporters.

Because of the accident, Montenegro's transport minister, Andrija Lompar, and National Railways chief Ranko Medenica resigned.

The driver of the train has been arrested because of suspicion of negligence.

The train was heading from the northeastern town of Bijelo Polje to the Montenegrin coastal city of Bar.