Man killed in level crossing crash in Seinäjoki

A man driving a tractor was killed in a railroad crossing in west central Finland midday on Thursday, local media reported.

The accident occurred on a track connecting the town of Seinäjoki with the Gulf of Bothnia port town of Kaskinen.

The man and his tractor were hit by two locomotives on a transfer without wagons. The crossing had no alert signaling or barrier systems.

According to the Finnish Transport Agency, at least 28 people have been killed in level crossing accidents in the country since 2013 and all of them took place at crossings where there was no signal light or warning for vehicles about train movement.

The last level crossing accident took place on December 12, 2018. A truck driver was killed and an engine driver was injured when a freight train collided with a heavy truck at Palojärvi level crossing near the village of Kuusivaara in Lapland.

Finland has 2,800 level crossings, but over 2,000 of these have no alert systems, media reports said.