Istanbu,jul 10:
24 people were killed in the derailment of a passenger train in northwestern Turkey, said a top Turkish official.
Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag said Monday that heavy rain had caused the ground under the rails to collapse, causing Sunday’s crash.
The train was heading to Istanbul from Edirne, on the border with Greece, with 362 passengers and six crew members on board. Five of its six cars derailed. e-mail
At least 24 people have died and 318 have been injured after a packed passenger train derailed in western Turkey.
The train was heading from Edirne, near the border with Greece, to Istanbul on Sunday evening with 362 passengers and six crew on board when it came off the tracks.
Five out of six cars left the rails after it ran over a section of track that partially collapsed after the ground underneath it gave way following heavy rains.
Health Minister Ahmet Demircan said 318 were injured, with some 124 of them still being treated in hospitals.
Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said seven other trains had used the route earlier Sunday but the rain caused “extraordinary swelling.”
Judicial and administrative investigations were launched.
A media ban issued Sunday by the government, citing national security and public order, was lifted Monday.
