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At least 24 people died after the derailment of a train in the northwest of Turkey, which represents the deadliest railway accident in this country since 2004, according to the new official balance sheet announced Monday.
The train was carrying 362 people from the city of Kapikule, on the border with Bulgaria, to Istanbul, when six cars derailed at the height of the town of Sarilar.
Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag announced Monday morning that 24 people had died in the accident and that there were also dozens wounded.
Health Minister Ahmet Demirca said 318 wounded had received medical care in hospitals after the accident, and that 124 of them are still hospitalized on Monday, according to statements cited by Turkish media.
Relief operations ended Monday morning, announced the Turkish Viceroy.
The Ministry of Transport explained in a statement that the derailment was caused by heavy rains that had damaged the condition of the railroad tracks.
The train seemed to be moving in an old fashion, with only one direction.
Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said that they had checked the rails in April
More than 100 ambulances went to the scene of the accident, said a senior official of the Ministry of Transportation. Health, Eyup Gamus, on the public television network TRT Haber. The Turkish army has also sent several helicopters, according to a statement.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who begins his new five-year term with a strengthened presidential power on Monday, said his condolences to the victims and announced an investigation "on this tragic accident."
In recent years, the Turkish administration has made a remarkable effort to modernize its rail network. Several high speed lines have been built to attract travelers to the train, instead of other preferred means, such as the plane or the bus.
The Turkish government inaugurated its first high-speed line in 2014, which connected Ankara to Istanbul, a demonstration of Erdogan's modernization efforts.
This line reduced the distance between the country's two major cities to three and a half hours, while before the train journey lasted seven hours.
Several train accidents The deadliest of them occurred in July 2004, with 41 dead and 80 wounded, after one train derailed in Sakarya province, in the north-west of country, while traveling at high speed.
Nine people died in January 2008 as a result of a train derailment due to poor road conditions in the Kutaha region of southern Istanbul.
Turkey developed its railway network in the middle of the 19th century. it was still part of the Ottoman Empire, thanks to investments from France, the United Kingdom and Germany.
Critical voices say they pay foreign companies for every mile built, which would explain the winding roads that characterize the Turkish rail network. 19659024] Neuer Inhalt
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