A Munich-to-Prague express train ran through a stop signal and collided with a local commuter service in the Czech Republic on Wednesday and three people were killed including both train drivers, authorities said.

       Eight passengers were seriously injured and several were taken by helicopter to hospital from the crash site near the western Czech village of Milavce, according to the regional rescue service.

       Ten German passengers with lighter injuries were taken by ambulance to hospitals in Germany, a Czech medical service co-ordinator said. About 50 passengers in all suffered minor injuries not requiring immediate treatment.

       A police spokeswoman said the three dead were the drivers of the two trains and a passenger, all of them Czech.

       “The Ex 351 went through a signal indicating Stop … and collided with a passenger train,” Transport Minister Karel Havlicek said on Twitter, referring to the express train.

       The trains collided shortly after 8 a.m. (0600 GMT) near Milavce, 140 kilometres southwest of the capital Prague.

       The fast train struck a local train travelling from Plzen to Domazlice, said a spokesman for Ceske Drahy (Czech Railways) which operates both trains.

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