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Investigators believe that heavy rains caused the ground to collapse under the rails, causing Sunday's collapse, said Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag.
The train was heading to Istanbul from Edirne, on the border with Greece, with 362 pbadengers and six crew members on board. Five of his six cars derailed.
Health Minister Ahmet Demircan said 318 people were injured and 124 of them were still hospitalized.
Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said that other trains had used the road earlier Sunday, and that the rain had caused an "extraordinary swelling" under the tracks.
But critics say the derailment could have been avoided. Experts from a union of Turkish engineers issued a statement claiming that a drainage system had been poorly constructed.
The union added that the government had cut costs, including eliminating the jobs of the inspector of roads about five years ago. He said the inspectors would have identified the ground collapsed and stopped the train before reaching this section of the track.
“ This disaster occurred for foreseeable and preventable reasons, '' the statement said.
The official Turkish news agency Anadolu said that two machinists had been summoned for interrogation at the prosecutor's office. Turkish authorities, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the derailment was under investigation for further investigation.
A Sunday media ban issued by the government, citing national security and public order, was lifted on Monday.
24 people killed in derailment train after heavy rains in Turkey
AP Photo XLP802, XLP805, XLP803, XLP801, XLP806 Eds: Updates with the statement of criticism. With AP Photos.
ISTANBUL: A pbadenger train derailed in northwestern Turkey, killing two dozen people and injuring more than 300 others, officials said on Monday.
Investigators believe that heavy rains caused the ground to collapse under the rails, causing Sunday's collapse, said Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag.
The train was heading to Istanbul from Edirne, on the border with Greece, with 362 pbadengers and six crew members on board. Five of his six cars derailed.
Health Minister Ahmet Demircan said 318 people were injured and 124 of them were still hospitalized.
Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said that other trains had used the road earlier Sunday, and that the rain had caused an "extraordinary swelling" under the tracks.
But critics say the derailment could have been avoided. Experts from a union of Turkish engineers issued a statement claiming that a drainage system had been poorly constructed.
The union added that the government has cut costs, including eliminating the jobs of the inspector of roads about five years ago. He said the inspectors would have identified the ground collapsed and stopped the train before reaching this section of the track.
“ This disaster occurred for predictable and preventable reasons, '' the statement said.
The official Turkish news agency Anadolu said that two machinists had been summoned for interrogation at the prosecutor's office. Turkish authorities, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said the derailment was under investigation for further investigation.
A media ban issued Sunday by the government, citing national security and public order, was lifted on Monday.
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