Nine people were killed and 86 injured when a high-speed train crashed into a locomotive in a suburb of Turkey’s capital of Ankara early Thursday morning, according to a statement issued by Turkish Minister of Transportation Cahit Turhan.
Despite conflicting statements made earlier as to the cause of the crash, it was determined that a high speed train traveling from Ankara to Konya collided with a locomotive carrying out inspections on the same tracks in the Yenimahalle district of the capital. The impact of the collision caused an overpass to collapse, with part of it landing on two rail cars and trapping people inside.
Initially, there were stories in the Turkish media that the train hit an overpass and derailed.
The train was carrying 206 passengers.
Three employees from the Turkish State Railways (TCDD) were detained as part of an investigation launched by the Ankara Public Prosecutor’s Office into the crash.
In early July, 24 people were killed when a passenger train derailed in Çorlu. Many people said the accident occurred because of the authorities’ failure to regularly maintain the tracks, which became dislodged following heavy rain in the region.