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CatastropheItaly

Italy: Train hits maintenance workers near Turin, 5 killed

August 31, 2023

The workers were repairing tracks overnight when they were hit by a train traveling at high speed, Italy's state railway says. A local mayor said the accident might have resulted from "a communication error."

https://p.dw.com/p/4VmRm
Workers near railway lines in Brandizzo following the accident
The deadly accident occurred near TurinImage: LaPresse via ZUMA Press/picture alliance

A train hit and killed five Italian railway workers overnight to Thursday while they were replacing some track on the Milan-Turin line, state railway network owner Rete Ferroviaria Italiana (RFI) has said.

The train was traveling at about 160 kph (100 mph), Italian news agency ANSA said, quoting police.  

What do we know about the accident?

The five workers were carrying out maintenance on tracks outside the station of Brandizzo on the outskirts of the northern city of Turin when they were hit by a train transporting wagons around midnight.

Two of their colleagues, including the foreman, managed to avoid the goods train and were unhurt, ANSA reported.

Firefighters arrive at the railway station with the train seen on the tracks
The bodies of the men, reported to be aged between 22 and 52 years old, were said to have been dragged for several metresImage: Tirno Romano/ANSA via ZUMA Press/picture alliance

The train driver was in shock but otherwise unharmed, according to the agency.

Paolo Bodoni, the mayor of Brandizzo, told the AGI news agency that the accident was "a huge tragedy."

"It cannot be excluded that there could have been a communication error," he said adding that an investigation was underway.

In a statement, RFI, which manages Italian railway infractructure, offered "its condolences and closeness" to the victims' families.

tj/rt (AFP, Reuters)