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Trains Collide in Denmark, Leaving 5 Critically Injured
Trains Collide in Denmark, Leaving 5 Critically Injured
The head-on collision of two local trains happened north of Copenhagen on Thursday morning, the authorities said. The cause was not yet known.
The scene of the crash on Thursday, north of the town of Hillerod. Seventeen people were hospitalized, the Danish authorities said. Steven Knap/Ritzau Scanpix, via Agence France-Presse
By Amelia Nierenberg
Reporting from London
April 23, 2026
Updated 5:29 a.m. ET
Two trains collided head-on in the Copenhagen region of Denmark on Thursday, critically injuring at least five people and leaving a dozen others hospitalized, the authorities said.
The trains, both local, collided just before 6:30 a.m., said Morten Pedersen, a regional police official. He said the police did not know why the trains had collided, according to DR, the Danish public broadcaster. ... The collision took place north of Hillerod, a picturesque town about half an hour north of Copenhagen by train. There were 38 people aboard the two trains, Mr. Pedersen said, according to DR.
Earlier in the morning, officials had said that four people were in critical condition. Anders Damm-Hejmdal, the chief doctor for the capital region’s Emergency Response Unit, said the official count of injured people could still change, DR reported. ... Emergency workers rushed to the scene with 18 vehicles, including 12 ambulances and an army helicopter, DR reported. Photographs from the scene showed train carriages heavily damaged but still upright on the tracks.
Fatal railway accidents are rare in Denmark, a wealthy country that prides itself on the quality of its infrastructure. In 2019, at least six people were killed when a cargo container from a freight train struck a Copenhagen-bound passenger train as the trains passed each other on a bridge amid high winds.
Amelia Nierenberg is a Times reporter covering international news from London.
The head-on collision of two local trains happened north of Copenhagen on Thursday morning, the authorities said. The cause was not yet known.
The scene of the crash on Thursday, north of the town of Hillerod. Seventeen people were hospitalized, the Danish authorities said. Steven Knap/Ritzau Scanpix, via Agence France-Presse
By Amelia Nierenberg
Reporting from London
April 23, 2026
Updated 5:29 a.m. ET
Two trains collided head-on in the Copenhagen region of Denmark on Thursday, critically injuring at least five people and leaving a dozen others hospitalized, the authorities said.
The trains, both local, collided just before 6:30 a.m., said Morten Pedersen, a regional police official. He said the police did not know why the trains had collided, according to DR, the Danish public broadcaster. ... The collision took place north of Hillerod, a picturesque town about half an hour north of Copenhagen by train. There were 38 people aboard the two trains, Mr. Pedersen said, according to DR.
Earlier in the morning, officials had said that four people were in critical condition. Anders Damm-Hejmdal, the chief doctor for the capital region’s Emergency Response Unit, said the official count of injured people could still change, DR reported. ... Emergency workers rushed to the scene with 18 vehicles, including 12 ambulances and an army helicopter, DR reported. Photographs from the scene showed train carriages heavily damaged but still upright on the tracks.
Fatal railway accidents are rare in Denmark, a wealthy country that prides itself on the quality of its infrastructure. In 2019, at least six people were killed when a cargo container from a freight train struck a Copenhagen-bound passenger train as the trains passed each other on a bridge amid high winds.
Amelia Nierenberg is a Times reporter covering international news from London.