Weekend Roundup: Train-Car Accident Kills Couple Near Viljandi
A two-fatality accident when a train plowed into a car containing two people on Saturday has returned attention to the country's large number of level-grade train crossings.
A 27-year-old man and 35-year-old woman - the only passengers in the car - were killed at the Pärsti crossing in Viljandi County, which ERR reported does not have warning lights or a gate.
There were about 70-100 passengers in the train, none of whom were injured. They were evacuated as a precaution.
The last major accident involving a train and a road vehicle took place in April at Raasiku, when a truck broadsided a moving train. The car's driver and a train passenger were killed, and 12 were injured.
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A number of spectacular fires have occurred in Tallinn over the past few days, with repeat juvenile arsonists suspected in torching some abandoned school buildings.
Early last week, a textile retail center burned in a high-rise building in the city center, with flames shooting out of the structure over many hours at night. It took 10 hours to put it out.
Abandoned schools have been on fire in past days. The first one in Mustamäe on Saturday sent up a massive plume of smoke that was visible in most of the city. Then, another former school building in the Õismäe district caught fire later in the evening.
Rescuers have put out blazes at the two schools in question over 30 times this summer, the Rescue Board told ERR, including several times this week.