Transport Minister Cahit Turhan told reporters in televised remarks that three of those killed were operators of the train. Turhan added that 47 people were injured and were in hospital for treatment
Nine people were killed and nearly 50 injured after a high-speed train crashed into a locomotive in the Turkish capital on Thursday, officials said. Transport Minister Cahit Turhan told reporters in televised remarks that three of those killed were operators of the train. Turhan added that 47 people were injured and were in hospital for treatment.
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The fast train had been on its way from Ankara's main station to the central province of Konya and according to Hurriyet daily, there were 206 passengers on board.
Earlier, the Ankara governor's office said three out of a total of 46 people had been seriously injured.
The death toll was rising fast. "This morning there was an accident after the high-speed train to Konya hit a locomotive tasked with checking rails on the same route," Sahin told reporters. Turhan said the accident took place six minutes after the train left Ankara as it entered the Marsandiz station.
The governor said search and rescue efforts continued as "technical investigations" were underway to find out exactly what caused the crash. He said information about the cause of the crash would be shared with the public when it is known. The Ankara public prosecutor launched an investigation into the crash.
The Ankara to Konya high-speed route was launched in 2011 and was followed in 2014 with a high-speed link between Ankara and Istanbul. Another rail disaster in July had killed 24 people in northwest Turkey.
Recent accidents
March 2014: A commuter train smashed into a minibus on a railway track in a southern Turkish province, killing 10.
January 2008: Nine people were killed when a train derailed in the Kutahya region because of faulty tracks.
July 2004: A speed-train derailment killed 41 people and injured 80 in the northwestern Sakarya.
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