9 dead after train slams into engine in Ankara

A HIGH-SPEED train hit a railway engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass yesterday at a station in the Turkish capital of Ankara, killing nine people and injuring dozens, officials said.

The 6:30am train from Ankara to the central Turkish city of Konya collided headon with the engine, which was checking the tracks at the capital’s small Marsandiz station, Transport Minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan told reporters after inspecting the site.

The high-speed train, which the Anadolu Agency said was carrying 206 passengers, usually passes through that station without stopping.

At least two cars derailed, hitting the station’s overpass, which then collapsed onto the train. Three engine drivers and six passengers were killed in the crash, Turhan said. One passenger died after being hospitalized while the others were killed at the scene. Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said 84 other people had sought medical help.

Television footage showed emergency services working to rescue passengers from wrangled cars and debris. Turhan said later no one else was believed to be trapped.

It wasn’t immediately clear if a signaling problem caused the crash. Authorities detained three state railway employees over suspected negligence and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed a thorough investigation.