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Two trains collided head-on north of the town of Hillerød in Denmark on the morning of Thursday, April 23, leaving five critically injured and a total of 18 hurt, officials have said
The injured were transported from the scene in ambulances and helicopters
The local mayor expressed shock over the crash and said it occurred on a line used by commuters and schoolchildren
A head-on train crash has left five people in critical condition and a total of 18 injured in Denmark.
The incident occurred at around 6:30 a.m. local time on Thursday, April 23 north of the town of Hillerød, the Greater Copenhagen Fire Department confirmed.
The two local trains were between Hillerød and Kagerup when the collision happened, according to local newspaper Jyllands-Posten. A Greater Copenhagen Fire Department spokesperson told PEOPLE that there were 38 passengers on board the two trains.
Danish Broadcasting Corporation DR reported that the accident had occurred on the Gribskov Line in the area of North Zealand.
A North Zealand Police spokesperson confirmed to PEOPLE that 18 were injured in the crash, five of which are critical.
A photo of the scene of the crash on April 23, 2026
Credit: Steven Knap / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty
The injured were transported from the scene in ambulances and helicopters, the Greater Copenhagen Fire Department confirmed.
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Local Chief Medical Officer Anders Damm-Hejmdal said at a press briefing that the amount injured was a “dynamic number,” adding that “it may change,” per TV 2.
The cause of the collision is currently unknown. Officials are now clearing up the crash site, which is around 25 miles away from Copenhagen, the capital city.
“Frederiksborg Fire and Rescue was alerted at 06:30 to a train accident north of Hillerød,” Greater Copenhagen Fire Department wrote in a translated statement on X on the morning of the crash.
“The accident occurred north of Isterødvejen, at a level crossing,” the post continued. “[Two] local trains have collided head-on. Many units have been dispatched to the accident. It is reported that all passengers are out of the trains and that there are injuries,” officials said, adding that authorities were working at the scene.
Local mayor Trine Egetved said she was “deeply shaken and shocked” by the crash in a translated Facebook statement.
Rescue workers are pictured at the crash scene on April 23, 2026
Credit: Steven Knap / Ritzau Scanpix / AFP via Getty
“It is reported that there are many injured, some of them critically, and they have been flown to Rigshospitalet,” she wrote. “I am deeply shaken and shocked and thinking of all those involved. The local line is used by many Gribskov citizens, employees and schoolchildren.”
Egetved said that the emergency services were “working at full speed” and trying to find out exactly what caused the collision.
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