Eight people killed in train crash in Turkey

The death toll has risen to eight, with 88 injured, in Turkey's train collision in northwestern Kocaeli province on Wednesday, Prime Ministry Emergency Management Directorate General said Thursday. Earlier, the office s aid late Wednesday that four people were killed and 67 others injured in the accident.

The accident occurred at 16:30 local time (1330 GMT) on Wednesday after a train traveling from Ankara to Istanbul failed to stop at the red light and collided head-on with the Adapazari Express. The two trains, Baskent Express and Adapazari Express, collided near Tavsancil hamlet of Gebze town in northwestern Turkey. Adapazari Express was severely damaged with many passengers being trapped inside, reports Xinhuanet.com

According to Scotsman.com the accident happened after a train travelling from Ankara to Istanbul ignored a signal and failed to stop at a junction.

Officials from rail unions suggested that Turkey’s creaking signalling systems, and the fact that the trains were not properly equipped with automatic speed reducing mechanisms were to blame.

The other train was travelling from Istanbul to Adapazari in northwestern Turkey.

The accident comes three weeks after a newly inaugurated high-speed train from Istanbul to Ankara derailed, killing 37 people – one of the worst train accidents in Turkey.