Three train workers detained after high-speed crash in Ankara leaves nine dead

  • Video report by ITV News Correspondent Paul Davies

Three railway workers have been detained by authorities after at least nine people died in a train crash in the Turkish capital of Ankara.

The staff are suspected of negligence after a high-speed train hit a railway engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a station in Ankara.

At least 47 people were also injured when the crash happened on Thursday morning as the train travelled from Ankara to Konya.

Rescue teams are searching for more survivors.

Rescue service teams working at the scene of a train accident in Ankara, Turkey. Credit: AP

Ankara governor Vasip Sahin said the high-speed train crashed into an engine that was checking the tracks at Marsandiz station in Ankara.

"Our hope is that there are no other victims," he said.

Private NTV television said at least two carriages derailed and parts of the overpass collapsed on to the train.

It was not immediately clear if a signalling problem caused the crash.

The train crashed into the overpass on Thursday morning. Credit: AP

Mr Sahin said a technical inspection has begun.

In July, 10 people were killed and more than 70 injured when most of a passenger train derailed in north-western Turkey, after torrential rain caused part of the tracks to collapse.

Last month, 15 people were injured when a passenger train collided with a freight train in the central province of Sivas.