9 Jul 2018

Turkey train derails en route to Istanbul, killing 10 - reports

4:28 pm on 9 July 2018

A train has derailed in north-west Turkey, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 70 others, state television says.

A derailed train following a train accident at Corlu district, in Tekirdag.
Ten people were killed and 73 injured

A derailed train following a train accident at Corlu district, in Tekirdag. Ten people were killed and 73 injured Photo: AFP

The train was en route to Istanbul from the town of Kapikule on the Bulgarian border, according to the reports.

Six of the carriages derailed, with about 360 passengers on board, state-run TRT Haber TV channel said.

The exact cause of the crash is unclear but authorities have blamed bad weather and a landslide for the accident.

CNN Turk though reported that a collapsed bridge was the cause of the accident.

The train derailed in the province of Tekirdag. Local governor Mehmet Ceylan told the NTV channel that helicopters had already taken many of the injured away from the scene.

Television footage shows rescuers heading to the crash site, and victims pulled from the carriages.

Russian news sources meanwhile said that Russian tourists were among those injured in the derailment.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent his condolences for those killed, his office said, after getting information about the crash from his ministers.

- BBC