Turkey train crash: Nine dead and 47 injured as high speed train smashes into overpass in Ankara

At least nine people have been killed and 47 were injured as a high speed train hit a railway engine and crashed into an overpass in Turkey’s capital, Ankara, officials have said.

The train smashed into the other engine before careering into the pedestrian bridge, according to reports.

A rescue mission was under way after at least two cars of the train derailed in the collision in the early hours of Thursday.

The train driver is among those who were killed and three of the injured passengers are in a serious condition.

The aftermath of the train crash
AP

Television footage showed emergency services working to rescue passengers from mangled cars and debris. Sniffers dogs were assisting with efforts to find survivors.

The 6.30am train from Ankara to the central Turkish city of Konya collided with an engine that was checking the tracks at Marsandiz station, officials told reporters at the scene.

Several ambulances were at the scene as emergency services worked to rescue passengers from cars and debris.

Rescue teams were looking for more survivors at the scene
EPA

Parts of the overpass collapsed onto the train.

Rescue teams were looking for more survivors, Ankara governor Vasip Sahin told reporters.

Wreckage covered the rail tracks after the collision
EPA

"Our hope is that there are no other victims," he said.

Mr Sahin initially said four people were killed in the crash.

His office later issued a statement saying seven people were killed in the crash.

It was not immediately clear if a signalling problem had caused the accident.

Emergency services scrambled to the scene of the crash
REUTERS

Mr Sahin said an investigation into the incident has been launched.

The crash occurred at a station where the Ankara-Konya train does not stop, however it was unclear at what speed the train was travelling at the time of the crash.

Turkey Train Crash - In pictures

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Footage showed emergency workers at the crash site, where passengers were trapped beneath the wreckage.

In July, 10 people were killed and more than 70 injured when most of a passenger train derailed in northwestern Turkey, after torrential rains caused part of the rail tracks to collapse.

Last month, 15 people were injured when a passenger train collided with a freight train in Turkey's central province of Sivas.

Konya, some 260 kilometres (160 miles) southwest of Ankara, is home to the tomb of the Sufi mystic and poet Jalaladdin Rumi, attracting thousands of pilgrims and tourists.

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