A passenger train rammed into a truck carrying farm workers in southern Turkey on Wednesday, killing nine people and injuring 30 others, officials said.
It was the nation’s fourth major rail accident in less than two years. Many of the injured were in critical condition, according to the Anatolia news agency.
The accident occurred near the town of Tarsus near the Mediterranean port city of Mersin, Anatolia reported. All of the casualties apparently were from the truck.
The train collided into the truck’s side as it apparently was trying to cross the tracks, footage from private CNN-Turk television showed. The train split the truck in two, leaving a huge chunk of squeezed and twisted metal behind.
The accident occurred at about 6.30am local time, CNN-Turk said. No injured people or bodies were seen in the footage, which apparently was shot after the rescue operation was over.
Tens of thousands of seasonal workers flock to the area to work at lemon, tangerine and orange orchards at this time of the year.
”We were going to a lemon orchard to work. I did not notice the train coming; like many others I was sleepy,” said 23-year-old Selim Cagla, who was injured. ”After the accident, the scene was awful. I saw the bodies of some of my relatives and had to help some other injured relatives.”
The previous major train accident was in August last year when a passenger train ignored a stop signal and rammed into an oncoming train, killing six people and injuring 85 near the village of Tavsancil in north-western Kocaeli, about 80km east of Istanbul.
Three weeks ago, a newly inaugurated high-speed train from Istanbul to Ankara derailed, killing 37 people. Three days after that derailment, a passenger train slammed into a minibus at a western railroad crossing, killing 15 people and injuring four others. — Sapa-AP