Two traffic accidents injure 43 in Czech Republic

dpa German Press Agency
Published: Sunday November 12, 2006

Prague- A pair of traffic accidents in separate towns in the Czech Republic left at least 43 people injured late Sunday, local media reported. In one accident, 13 women labourers from North Korea were struck by a car and injured while walking after dark on a road in Bavoryne, a village about 30 kilometres west of Prague.

Nine of the women were hospitalized in serious condition, a spokeswoman for the Central Bohemia ambulance service told the CTK news agency.

A few hours later, 30 people were hurt when the bus in which they were riding struck a concrete post and overturned on a highway near As, near the German border in the northwest Czech Republic.

Thirteen bus passengers were hospitalized, while the rest were treated at the scene for minor injuries, a rescue service spokesman told the Novinky news agency.

One report said the bus driver may have swerved to avoid an oncoming vehicle.

The injured North Koreans apparently belong to a group of 50 underwear-factory seamstresses whose labour conditions were probed by the Czech government two years ago.

The magazine Respekt found the women living in hostels decorated with pictures of North Korean President Kim Jong-Il and marching like soldiers to and from work. But investigators said no laws were violated.

© 2006 dpa German Press Agency