10 Dead, 73 Injured in Turkish Train Derailment

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At least 10 people were killed and dozens injured after a train derailed in Turkey, reported state media.

The derailment, which injured 73 people, took place in northwestern Tekirdag province on Sunday, a Health Ministry official told the state-run Anadolu Agency.

“According to our first estimates, 10 people lost their lives and 73 people were injured,” Eyup Gumus, the Turkish Health Ministry’s undersecretary, was quoted as saying. The train was carrying 362 people, he said.

Officials said the train was going from Edirne Province to Istanbul when five cars derailed. Some reports said six cars derailed.

The cause of the crash is not clear, but officials said that heavy rains were reported in the region. At least 100 ambulances were dispatched to the scene, Anadolu reported.

“It was determined that the accident was due to the lack of drainage in the soil between a culvert and the rail line and excessive rainfall,” said the Turkish Ministry of Transport, Turkish broadcaster NTV reported.

After news of the derailment broke, the Turkish Prime Minister’s office issued a “temporary ban on broadcasting the accident,” reported the Anadolu Agency, without elaborating. Photos and video showed people being pulled from carriages.

Turkish President Erdogan said he was briefed on the matter, saying, “The accident is being investigated from every angle,” Anadolu reported.

Russian news reports said that Russian tourists were on the train when it derailed. Several were injured, according to the BBC.