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At least 25 killed in Italy train crash

The death toll in Tuesday's head-on train crash in Italy has been raised from 20 to 25, with dozens injured.

The accident happened on a stretch of track linking the small towns of Corato and Andria in the southeastern Puglia region.

Italy Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has demanded a full and swift investigation, and said Transport Minister Graziano Delrio would report to parliament on Wednesday.

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Italy crash investigators focus on phone alert system

A rescuer works at the site where two passenger trains collided near Bari, Italy. Credit: Reuters

Authorities investigating the train crash in Italy that has killed at least 25 people are focusing on an antiquated phone alert system.

Union leaders and railway police blamed the crash on human error, saying the alert system in place on the stretch of track involved in the accident relied on station masters phoning one another to advise of a departing train.

Other systems used in Italy are automatic, and engage if two trains are close by on the same track.

"Surely one of the two trains shouldn't have been there," railway police commander Giancarlo Conticchio said. "And surely there was an error. We need to determine the cause of the error."

Italian Red Cross workers were shuttling family members to the morgue in Puglia's regional capital Bari on Wednesday to help identify the dead.

The trains involved in the crash were operated by private Bari-based rail company Ferrotramviaria.

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