9 killed, 47 hurt
Nine people were killed and nearly 50 injured after a high-speed train crashed into a locomotive in the Turkish capital yesterday, officials said.
Transport Minister Cahit Turhan told reporters in televised remarks that three of those killed were operators of the train.
One of the victims died in hospital, he added. Turhan added that 47 people were injured and were in hospital for treatment.
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.
"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," Sahin told reporters in televised remarks.
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 in Yenimahalle district.
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.
The accident comes after another rail disaster in July this year when 24 people were killed and hundreds more injured after a train derailed in Tekirdag province, northwest Turkey, due to ground erosion following heavy rains.
Turkey's worst rail disaster in recent history was in July 2004 when 41 people were killed and 80 injured after a high-speed train derailed in the northwestern province of Sakarya.
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