Woman dies as passenger trains collide in Austria

BERLIN — Two passenger trains crashed in central Austria on Monday, killing one person and injuring 22 others, authorities said. One train hit the side of the other near the station in Niklasdorf, a town 60 km north of Graz, Austria, said Graz police spokesman Leo Josefus. Photographs of the accident scene showed the side of a Germany- bound EuroCity train torn away and a regional Austrian train next to it.

Authorities said a woman on the EuroCity train was killed and the injured include three children. The victim’s nationality was not immediately released, Austria’s APA news agency reported.

Red Cross spokesman Lucas Kundigraber said 17 people were taken to local hospitals for treatment of minor injuries.

He said 19 ambulances and two emergency doctors were sent to the scene.

Josefus says the cause of the crash, which happened at about 12: 25 p. m., is not yet known.

The EuroCity train was headed to Saarbruecken, Germany.