Railway accidents claim 39 lives in first two months of 2010

The Railway Inspectorate says that 39 people have died in accidents involving trains since the beginning of the year. The number marks an increase of one third compared with the same period last year. The Czech Press Agency says that a meeting of experts and officials at the beginning of February ended with no clear reasons for the increase in fatalities. 28 people over the last two months succumbed to injuries after being hit by trains, another 11 died in the 67 accidents that occurred on railroad crossings. According to the inspectorate, only a fraction of the accidents can be put down to a fault of the trains, with the vast majority of accidents carelessness on the part of pedestrians or drivers.