Three rail workers detained after train crashes into another and then hits overpass
Three state railway employees have been detained in Turkey on suspicion of negligence after a collision involving a high-speed train killed at least nine people and injured 47, a state news agency has reported.
The commuter train heading to the city of Konya ploughed into a service train inspecting the tracks and then crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a station in Ankara at about 6.30am local time on Thursday.
Video footage showed emergency workers at the scene trying to free people from carriages trapped beneath the wreckage of the overpass at the Marşandiz train station, about five miles from Ankara’s main station. Three engine drivers are believed to be among the dead and at least three of the 208 passengers onboard remain in a serious condition in hospital.
The cause of the accident is not known, but engineering and rail workers’ unions have repeatedly said cost-cutting programmes and the axing of route inspector jobs five years ago have created safety issues.
There have been eight serious train accidents in the country since 2002, including a derailment near the city of Çorlu this year that killed 24 people.
Yunus Yener, the chair of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, said in a tweet that signalling issues had been flagged on the Konya-Ankara line for some time.
The privately owned broadcaster NTV television said at least two cars derailed and parts of the overpass collapsed on to the train. It was not immediately clear at what speed the trains were travelling when the crash occurred.
The Ankara governor, Vasip Şahin, said a technical inspection had begun, while NTV television, quoting unnamed officials, said three prosecutors had ben assigned to investigate. “Our hope is that there are no other victims,” Şahin said.
The state news agency Anadolu did not identify the three workers who had been arrested.
A statement from the office of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said there would be a thorough investigation, and those responsible would be brought to justice. The Ankara state prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation.
Critics of Erdoğan say his presidency has been characterised by a steep decline in public services and associated worries about the erosion of health and safety practices.
In July, 24 people were killed and more than 70 injured when most of a passenger train derailed in Çorlu, in north-west Turkey, after torrential rains caused part of the rail 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.
An investigation into the incident opened by the Çorlu authorities was later quashed by Turkey’s ruling AK party officials.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...dozens-injured-in-high-speed-ankara-collision
Three state railway employees have been detained in Turkey on suspicion of negligence after a collision involving a high-speed train killed at least nine people and injured 47, a state news agency has reported.
The commuter train heading to the city of Konya ploughed into a service train inspecting the tracks and then crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a station in Ankara at about 6.30am local time on Thursday.
Video footage showed emergency workers at the scene trying to free people from carriages trapped beneath the wreckage of the overpass at the Marşandiz train station, about five miles from Ankara’s main station. Three engine drivers are believed to be among the dead and at least three of the 208 passengers onboard remain in a serious condition in hospital.
The cause of the accident is not known, but engineering and rail workers’ unions have repeatedly said cost-cutting programmes and the axing of route inspector jobs five years ago have created safety issues.
There have been eight serious train accidents in the country since 2002, including a derailment near the city of Çorlu this year that killed 24 people.
Yunus Yener, the chair of the Union of Chambers of Turkish Engineers and Architects, said in a tweet that signalling issues had been flagged on the Konya-Ankara line for some time.
The privately owned broadcaster NTV television said at least two cars derailed and parts of the overpass collapsed on to the train. It was not immediately clear at what speed the trains were travelling when the crash occurred.
The Ankara governor, Vasip Şahin, said a technical inspection had begun, while NTV television, quoting unnamed officials, said three prosecutors had ben assigned to investigate. “Our hope is that there are no other victims,” Şahin said.
The state news agency Anadolu did not identify the three workers who had been arrested.
A statement from the office of Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, said there would be a thorough investigation, and those responsible would be brought to justice. The Ankara state prosecutor’s office has launched an investigation.
Critics of Erdoğan say his presidency has been characterised by a steep decline in public services and associated worries about the erosion of health and safety practices.
In July, 24 people were killed and more than 70 injured when most of a passenger train derailed in Çorlu, in north-west Turkey, after torrential rains caused part of the rail 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.
An investigation into the incident opened by the Çorlu authorities was later quashed by Turkey’s ruling AK party officials.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...dozens-injured-in-high-speed-ankara-collision
