At least nine dead as high-speed train hits overpass in Turkey

A high-speed train hit a railway engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a station in the Turkish capital of Ankara, killing nine people and injuring dozens.

Yesterday’s 6:30am train from Ankara to the central Turkish city of Konya collided head-on with the engine, which was checking the tracks at the capital’s small Marsandiz station.

The high-speed train, which was reportedly 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.

One passenger died after being hospitalised, while the others were killed at the scene.

Health minister Fahrettin Koca said 84 other people had sought medical help after the crash. Television footage showed emergency services working to rescue passengers from wrangled cars and debris. Sniffer dogs were reported to have assisted efforts to find survivors.

Transport minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan, who inspected the site, said later no-one else was believed to be trapped.

It was not immediately clear if a signalling problem caused the crash.

Authorities detained three state railway employees over suspected negligence.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed a thorough investigation would take place and those responsible would be brought to justice.

Passenger Ayse Ozyurt said the accident occurred 12 minutes after the train left the main station and that it had not yet gained its maximum speed.

“The train was not fast at that time yet,” she said.

“Suddenly there was a frightening breakage … and the train was off the rail.”

A large number of emergency workers arrived at the scene shortly after the collision, which occurred in snowy conditions.

Konya, about 160 miles south of Ankara, is home to the tomb of the Sufi mystic and poet Jalaladdin Rumi, attracting thousands of pilgrims and tourists.

The crash occurred during an annual week of remembrance for Rumi when many travel to Konya to watch Whirling Dervishes – members of a Sufi sect – perform.

Turkey has had a raft of train crashes this year.

In July, 24 people were killed and more than 70 injured when most of a passenger train derailed in north-western Turkey after torrential rains caused a section of the tracks to collapse.

Last month, 15 people were injured when a passenger train collided with a freight train in Turkey’s central province of Sivas.