Roundup: At least 9 dead, dozens injured in high-speed train accident in Ankara
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E-mail Xinhua, December 13, 2018
ANKARA, Dec. 13 (Xinhua) -- A Turkish high-speed train collided with a locomotive and crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a train station in Ankara on Thursday morning, killing at least nine people and injuring 47 others, The Turkish Transport Minister said.
"The high-speed train crashed head on with another locomotive returning from an inspection on the same rails. Nine people have been killed in this accident including three mechanics," Mehmet Cahit Turhan told reporters on the crash scene.
Television footage showed emergency teams working at the scene, using also dogs to free potential injured passengers trapped beneath the mangled metal wreckage of the Marsandiz train station.
The deadly accident happened just after 6:30 a.m. local time (GMT0330) as the train was traveling from capital Ankara to the central Turkish province of Konya.
It was not clear at what speed the high-speed train was traveling when the crash occurred. Three prosecutors have been assigned to investigate into the crash, local media reported.
The Marsandiz station is located around 10 km from the main Ankara station, from which the high-speed train left some six minutes earlier.
The Ankara Governor, Vasip Sahin, told reporters at the crash scene that while the accident happened, the locomotive was checking the tracks at the station after a snowfall overnight, the first of this winter in Ankara.
"The train collided with a shunting locomotive that should not have been on that rail track. An investigation into the incident is underway," Sahin said.
Sahin announced a first death toll of four dead and 43 injured, but this increased over time.
State-run Anadolu Agency said that at least two carriages derailed and parts of the overpass collapsed onto the train.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called on Turhan and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu to receive information regarding the accident and ordered all related departments to be mobilized.
Konya is located about 260 km south of Ankara and is home to the tomb of 13th century scholar, mystic and poet Jalaladdin Rumi, attracting thousands of pilgrims and tourists each year.
On July 8, a passenger train derailed near the Turkish town of Corlu, west of Istanbul, killing 25 people because of torrential rains and a landslide that weakened the base of the tracks. Enditem
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