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ISTANBUL (AFP) – Twenty-four people were killed and hundreds wounded when a crowded train of passengers derailed in northwestern Turkey because of soil erosion and heavy rains, announced Monday the authorities. Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag said 24 people had died from the Edirne region on the Greek and Bulgarian borders heading for Halkali station in Istanbul when six cars derailed in the Tekirdag region. According to the official Anadolu News Agency, Akdag said that the search for the derailed cars was completed Monday morning.
According to the Turkish Minister of Health, Ahmet Demircan, 338 people had to be hospitalized. after the accident with 124 still hospitalized.
The Ministry of Transport said the train, carrying 362 passengers, had derailed as recent heavy showers caused the ground below.
Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan said the latest checks on rails had been completed in April, reported Anadolu.
The Turkish media, including the daily Hurriyet, published photos showing erosion
Television footage showed several cars slouched to the side and injured passengers were taken on stretchers while rescuers took the wreckage. 19659002] The train derailed outside the village of Sarilar in the Corlu district of Tekirdag
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences to those who lost their lives in the accident that took place "deeply upset the nation". The accident, one of the worst railway disasters in Turkey in recent years, threatens to cast a shadow over a lavish ceremony scheduled Monday in Ankara to mark the inauguration of Erdogan for a new president. The presidential term and the transition to a new system of government
Erdogan said that all state institutions "were using all means available to help", promising that there would be a thorough investigation on "l & # 39; tragic accident, "said the presidency. 19659002] The Turkish audio-visual authority RTUK later stated that the government had issued a temporary ban on broadcasting footage of the scene.
The Turkish authorities of Erdogan have sought in recent years to modernize Turkey's formerly dilapidated rail network by building several high-speed interurban lines.
Turkish passengers generally prefer to take airplanes or buses for intercity travel, but this has changed with the new high-speed lines.
The train involved in the accident appeared to be one of the slowest passenger trains that operated on one lane.
In January 2008, nine people were killed by a train that derailed in the Kutahya area south of Istanbul due to faulty roads.
And in the worst railway disaster in Turkey, 41 people were killed. were killed and 80 wounded in July 2004 when a high-speed train derailed in Sakarya province, in the north-west of the country.
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