ISTANBUL, 23 July 2004 — At least 139 people died when a packed new express train heading to Ankara from Istanbul derailed yesterday in one of Turkey’s worst rail disasters, officials said.
“Four wagons were derailed and fell on their sides, but we don’t know what caused the derailment,” Mehmet Ayci of state railways told Reuters, adding mechanical trouble was suspected. “We don’t believe speed was the cause, because the train was traveling between 75-80 km per hour in this area.”
It came off the rails near the town of Pamukova at around 7:45 p.m., about two hours after leaving Istanbul, Turkey’s commercial hub and biggest city.
The death toll stood at 139 and could rise throughout the night, according to Hasan Ali Cevik, undersecretary at the Health Ministry.
Pamukova Mayor Feridun Turan told NTV news television that the train was full with 234 passengers and nine personnel.
Television stations initially reported the train had been traveling the other way, from Ankara to Istanbul. Transport officials said one of the rear wagons may have derailed first, causing the accident, CNN Turk said.
“There are pieces of bodies everywhere, limbs have been severed,” Oguz Dizer, a journalist at the scene, told CNN Turk.
The new fast train connecting Ankara with Istanbul went into service in June amid much fanfare. Critics have said Turkey’s decrepit train system has long been in need of modernization.
