Two injured in tram collision in Prague's southern district

Two people including the driver were injured when two trams collided in Prague’s Braník district this morning shortly after 6 a.m. Firefighters had to cut the driver out of one of the cabs using hydraulic rescue equipment. A total of 10 people were on the trams at the time of the accident.

Tram service between Braník and Modřany on the 3, 7, and 21 lines has been suspended until at least 10 a.m. The transport company introduced a replacement bus service.

Firefighters removed the dividing wall behind the driver and tore the trams apart. They managed to free the injured man at 8:30 a.m. and handed him over to the doctors. According to the firemen, the driver is in stable condition. Rescuers said that the driver was given intravenous pain medication before he could be removed from the front of the tram where he was wedged.

The other injured person was a 48-year-old woman, who had a bruise to her spine. According to rescuers, no one else was injured.

The police only assisted at the scene, and the Prague Public Transport Company (DPP) will be conducting the investigation into what happened.

A tram accident with even worse consequences happened at the same place in June 2002. At that time, the original collision caused a chain reaction of several trams standing in a column. At that time, two dozen people were injured, one seriously. The driver who caused the collision was later given probation, news server iDnes reported.