Turkey train crash: Nine dead, 50 injured in Ankara

In a tragic incident today, nine people were killed and nearly 50 injured after a high-speed train crashed into a locomotive in the Turkish capital on Thursday. Transport Minister of Turkey, Cahit Turhan told reporters in televised remarks that three of those killed were operators of the train and one of the victims died in hospital.

47 people were injured and were in hospital for treatment. Apparently, 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 almost 206 passengers on board.

The Ankara governor’s office said that three out of a total of 46 people had been seriously injured. Vasip Sahin, governor of Ankara said earlier on Thursday morning that four people had been killed.

Sahin told reporters, “This morning there was an accident after the 6.30 high-speed train to Konya hit a locomotive tasked with checking rails on the same route.” According to Turhan said the accident took place six minutes after the train left Ankara as it entered the Marsandiz station.

The governor further assured that search and rescue efforts continued as ‘technical investigations’ were underway to find out exactly what caused the crash in Yenimahalle district.

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