ISTANBUL — At least 10 people were killed and more than 70 injured Sunday when a passenger train derailed in northwestern Turkey, Turkish authorities said.

Five of the train's six cars derailed in a village in Tekirdag province after "the ground between the culvert and the rail collapsed" due to heavy rains, the Ministry of Transport said.

Health Ministry Undersecretary Eyup Gumus put the number of fatalities at 10 and the number of people injured at 73 based on initial reports from the scene, according to Turkey's official Anadolu news agency.

The train was heading to Istanbul from Edirne, on the border with Greece, with 362 passengers and six crew members on board, the transportation ministry said.

The Turkish prime ministry issued a temporary media ban Sunday night on reporting the aftermath of the accident, citing national security and public order.

Before then, an unnamed survivor told the private DHA news agency she had been in one of the cars that went off the tracks.

"There were deaths immediately, people whose legs were crushed. It was a horrible accident," she said.

A photograph of the site showed collapsed ground under the rails. Video footage captured overturned cars and several people being carried away on stretchers.

Tekirdag governor Mehmet Ceyhan said the area where the derailment happened was muddy and difficult to reach. Military and ambulance helicopters arrived at the accident scene.</s>Image copyright Reuters Image caption The train derailed near the border with Bulgaria in the province of Tekirdag

Twenty-four people have been killed after a train derailed in north-western Turkey, Deputy Prime Minister Recep Akdag says.

The train was en route to Istanbul from the town of Kapikule on the Bulgarian border, according to reports.

Six of the carriages derailed, with about 360 passengers on board, state-run TRT Haber TV channel said.

The exact cause of the crash is unclear but authorities have blamed bad weather and a landslide for the accident.

CNN Turk, though, reported that a collapsed bridge was the cause of the accident.

The train derailed in the province of Tekirdag. Local governor Mehmet Ceylan told the NTV channel that helicopters had already taken many of the injured away from the scene.

Television footage shows rescuers heading to the crash site, and victims pulled from the carriages.

Russian news sources meanwhile said that Russian tourists were among those injured in the derailment.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent his condolences for those killed, his office said, after getting information about the crash from his ministers.</s>ISTANBUL, Turkey (AFP) — Ten people were killed and more than 70 injured yesterday when a train packed with weekend passengers derailed in north-west Turkey, the health ministry said.

The train, with over 360 people on board, was travelling from the Edirne region, on the Greek and Bulgarian borders to Istanbul's Halkali station when six of its carriages derailed in the Tekirdag region.

“According to initial findings, 10 people lost their lives and 73 people were injured,” Health Ministry Undersecretary Eyup Gumus told state-run news agency Anadolu.

He also told local media more than 100 ambulances have been sent to the scene.

The Turkish army said in a statement that it had sent helicopters to the scene, while the Istanbul municipality on Twitter said 24 rescue workers and six rescue vehicles were on their way to provide assistance.

The first television pictures showed several train carriages laying on their sides, and the shocked and injured being taken away on stretchers as rescue workers picked through the wreckage.

“The accident happened because of adverse weather conditions,” Tekirdag governor Mehmet Ceylan told the NTV news channel.

Reports said the surrounding area was muddy due to recent rains.

The transport ministry in a statement said officials confirmed that because of heavy rains, the ground beneath the rails subsided, causing the train to derail.

Transport Minister Ahmet Arslan was on his way to the scene, the ministry added.

The train derailed outside the village of Sarilar in the Corlu district of Tekirdag, reports said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed his condolences regarding those who lost their lives in the accident that has “deeply upset the whole nation”.

Erdogan said all state institutions were “using every means available to help” in a statement issued by the presidency, as he vowed that there would be a comprehensive investigation into the “tragic accident”.

Turkey's audiovisual authority, RTUK later said the government has issued a temporary ban on broadcasting images from the scene.

Turkish authorities under Erdogan have over the last years sought to modernise Turkey's once-ramshackle rail network, building several high-speed intercity lines.

Turkish passengers have in general preferred taking planes or the bus for intercity travel, but this is changing with the new high-speed lines.

The train involved in the accident appeared to be one of the slower passenger trains, travelling on a single-track railway.

Turkey's rail network has been hit by several fatal accidents over the last years.

In January 2008 nine people were killed when a train derailed in the Kutahya region south of Istanbul due to faulty rails.

And in Turkey's worst recent rail disaster, 41 people were killed and 80 injured in July 2004 when a high-speed train derailed in the north-western province of Sakarya.</s>At least 10 people have been killed and 73 others injured after a busy passenger train derailed in Turkey.

Five of the train's six carriages came off the tracks near Corlu in the northwestern province of Tekirdag on Sunday evening.

The train, with 362 passengers and six crew members on board, had been travelling from Edirne, a city in Turkey's northwest, to Istanbul.

Turkey's ministry of transport said "the ground between the culvert and the rail collapsed" owing to heavy rain.

The DHA news agency quoted an unnamed survivor as saying: "There were deaths immediately, people whose legs were crushed.

Tekirdag governor Mehmet Ceylan blamed "adverse weather conditions" for the accident, adding that the ground was muddy from heavy rain and hard for rescuers to reach.

He told NTV: "There are a large number of injured and we have fatalities."

Television footage showed many of the injured being carried away on stretchers as the train carriages lay on their sides.

About 100 ambulances were at the scene, along with helicopters from the Turkish army.

Over the past few years, Turkish cities have been building high-speed rail lines to replace the country's ageing network.

The train involved in Sunday's accident appears to have been a slower train on a single track railway.

Turkey's worst accident on the railway was in the province of Sakarya in July 2004, when 41 people were killed and 18 injured in a derailment.</s>Istanbul: Ten people were killed and 73 injured on Sunday when a train packed with weekend passengers derailed in northwest Turkey, the health ministry said.

The train, with over 360 people on board, was travelling from the Edirne region on the Greek and Bulgarian borders to Istanbul's Halkali station when six of its carriages derailed in the Tekirdag region.

Over 100 ambulances were sent to the scene, state-run TRT Haber television said, quoting Health Ministry Undersecretary Eyup Gumus. The Turkish army said in a statement that it had sent helicopters to the scene.

Television pictures showed several train carriages laying on their sides, and shocked injured being taken away on stretchers as rescue workers picked through the wreckage. "There are a large number of injured and we have fatalities," Tekirdag governor Mehmet Ceylan told the NTV channel. "The accident happened because of adverse weather conditions," he added.

Reports said the surrounding area was muddy due to recent rains and the ground beneath the rails may have subsided away, causing the train to derail. The train derailed outside the village of Sarilar in the Corlu district of Tekirdag, reports said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been informed over the accident and expressed his condolences over those who lost their lives, state-run Anadolu news agency said.

Turkish authorities under Erdogan have over the last years sought to modernise Turkey's once ramshackle rail network, building several high speed inter-city lines.

Turkish passengers have in general preferred taking planes or the bus for inter-city travel but this is changing with the new high-speed lines. The train involved in the accident appeared to be one of the slower passenger trains travelling on a single track railway.

Turkey's rail network has been hit by several fatal accidents over the last years. In January 2008, nine people were killed when a train derailed in the Kutahya region south of Istanbul due to faulty rails. And in Turkey's worst recent rail disaster, 41 people were killed and 80 injured in July 2004 when a high-speed train derailed in the northwestern province of Sakarya.</s>BREAKING: At least 13 dead and 73 injured after a train with over 300 passengers derailed in #Turkey's #Corlu District #Tekirdag city .

The train was en route from #Edirne to Istanbul. pic.twitter.com/Hh9zd1ixtd</s>Several dead as train derails in Turkey

ISTANBUL: A train came off the rails in northwest Turkey on Sunday and several people were killed and injured, Demiroren news agency reported.

State news agency Anadolu said five wagons came off the tracks in a region near the Greek border.

The train was carrying more than 300 passengers and was headed to Istanbul. President Tayyip Erdogan's office said Erdogan had received information from the ministers of transport and interior about the incident, and sent condolences for those killed. Television images showed emergency personnel walking to reach the crash site.</s>Ten people have been killed and 73 injured in a train accident in northwest Turkey today.

The train, carrying 362 passengers, came off the rails in northwest Turkey after heavy rain and a landslide on to the tracks, officials said.

A journalist at the scene, Mustafa Yilmaz, said emergency personnel had to walk to the scene of the crash to help the injured.

The train was travelling from Uzunkopru, Edirne province, to Istanbul when it derailed near Sarilar village in Tekirdag’s Corlu district.

Dogan News Agency reported the mayor of Sarilar, Fuat Doner as saying it is "very difficult to reach the area by car...air support is needed to evacuate the wounded".

Around 100 ambulances have been sent to the scene and air ambulances are also being used to transport the injured to hospital.

Officials believe the train came off the track due to heavy rains.

Pictures from the scene show numerous injured passengers lying on the ground or on stretchers as medical professionals help them.

Dramatic drone images show a number of carriages lying on the side of the field where the train came off the tracks.

One picture shows the back door of a carriage smashed out as farms, other passengers and paramedics lift the injured passengers out of the train.

Others can be seen frantically on the phone as the overturned train can be seen in the background.

One survivor, walking along the rail track away from the accident site, told CNN Turk television that he had seen many more than 10 bodies.

A statement from the prime minister’s office said a suburban train suffered an accident after a landslide.

“Unfortunately we have fatalities and casualties,” it said.

The local governor in Tekirdag, about 120 km (75 miles) west of Istanbul, blamed heavy rain for the derailment.

“Our helicopter ambulances have reached the site. Many of those injured have been taken off the site,” Mehmet Ceylan said.

President Tayyip Erdogan’s office said he had received information from the ministers of transport and interior about the incident, and sent condolences for those killed.</s>A train has derailed in north-west Turkey, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 70 others, state television says.

The train was en route to Istanbul from the town of Kapikule on the Bulgarian border, according to the reports.

Six of the carriages derailed, with about 360 passengers on board, state-run TRT Haber TV channel said.

The exact cause of the crash is unclear but authorities have blamed bad weather and a landslide for the accident.

CNN Turk though reported that a collapsed bridge was the cause of the accident.

The train derailed in the province of Tekirdag. Local governor Mehmet Ceylan told the NTV channel that helicopters had already taken many of the injured away from the scene.

Television footage shows rescuers heading to the crash site, and victims pulled from the carriages.

Russian news sources meanwhile said that Russian tourists were among those injured in the derailment.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has sent his condolences for those killed, his office said, after getting information about the crash from his ministers.</s>ISTANBUL: Ten people were killed and 73 injured on Sunday when a train packed with weekend passengers derailed in northwest Turkey, sate-run TRT Haber television said, quoting the health ministry.

The train, with 360 people on board, was travelling from Kapikule on the Bulgarian border to Istanbul when six of its carriages derailed in the Tekirdag region.

Over 100 ambulances have been sent to the scene, TRT Haber said, quoting Health Ministry Undersecretary Eyup Gumus. The Turkish army said in a statement that it had sent helicopters to the scene.

Television pictures showed several train carriages laying on their sides, and shocked injured being taken away on stretchers.

“There are a large number of injured and we have fatalities,” Tekirdag governor Mehmet Ceylan told the NTV channel. “The accident happened because of adverse weather conditions,” he added. Reports said the surrounding area was muddy due to recent rains.
A train en route to Istanbul from Bulgaria derails in Tekirdağ Province, Turkey, killing 24 people and injuring 73.