404) from Trondheim, both loaded with vacationing skiers,[1] collided head-on 1 kilometer (0.6 mi) north of Tretten station.
[2] With 27 killed, including seven children under 16,[3] and 25 injured, it was the worst train crash in Norwegian peacetime history.
[4] One accident victim was from the United States[5] while the rest were Norwegians, including the politician Tønnes Andenæs.
The accident happened because the northbound train, running late, did not wait at Tretten station to let the other pass.
[3] One train driver told a newspaper that it was difficult to see the signals because the sun was low in the sky.