5 people killed in railroad crossing accident in Austria

Five people were killed and three were seriously injured after a train struck a vehicle at a railway crossing in Purgstall an der Erlauf in the northeasternmost state of Lower Austria Friday evening, local media reported.

Emergency crew said the vehicle, a minivan, was fully occupied by two adults and six children. Both adults along with three of the children were reportedly killed, with the other three seriously injured.

The minivan was in the process of passing through the ungated railroad crossing, marked with a stop sign and a St. Andrew's Cross (an X-shaped cross), at around 7 p.m. local time (1700 GMT) when it was struck by the train, Austrian public service broadcaster ORF reported.

Two fire brigades and 40 personnel attended to the accident, along with medical crew including three helicopters and several ambulances.

The three injured children were airlifted to hospital, with their current status unknown. The emergency crew said the rescue work had been completed by about 9 p.m. local time (1900GMT).

The Austrian Federal Railways said none of the passengers on the train was injured. The train consisted of two cars with less than 10 passengers.

The authorities said the exact cause of the accident will be investigated.