Dozens dead and injured in Apulia train smash

 BARLETTA --  A head-on collision between two regional trains on the route between Corato and Rugo di Puglia Tuesday killed at least 27 people and injured 35 others, firefighters and rescue workers said. 

 According to news channel TgNorba 24, the collision was a result of human error, as one of the two trains left too much in advance from the station of origin.

 The railway line, managed by the train company Ferrotramviaria, is reportedly most often used by students and commuters, but is it said that there are several older people amongst those killed in the crash. Around 200 trains pass on this line each day.

 Many commuters were reportedly trapped in the trains’ carriages following the collision, and a child was pulled out from the scene of crash and taken immediately to hospital by helicopter. The injured are reportedly being taken to the Andria hospital near the location of the crash.

 Firefighter teams from Bari and Barletta as well as the railway police came to the site of the crash, where there is a single railway line and ongoing building works for the construction of double tracks.

 The head of the municipal police, Riccardo Zingaro, reported that some of the coaches were completely crumpled and rescuers were pulling people from the wreckage where the crash occurred in the countryside. A on-site hospital has reportedly been set up at the location of the collision, where victims of the incident are being treated.

 Train company Ferrotramviaria spokesperson stated "we don't yet know anything about the cause of the crash, it is still early on. We have opened an internal inquiry. We manage 196 trains a day and nothing like this has ever happened before."

 jp-se