July 22, 2004
ANKARA, Turkey (CNN) -- At least 128 people have been killed and 57 injured after a high-speed train derailed in northwestern Turkey, according to a Turkish health ministry official.
The train -- traveling on its maiden voyage from Istanbul to Ankara -- derailed Thursday with 243 people on board.
One witness told the private NTV television station that body parts were strewn over the ground.
Oguz Dizer, a journalist who was traveling in the area, said he saw several bodies lying near the tracks.
"The scene is one of carnage," Dizer was quoted as saying. "There are people lying all over the place."
Ali Kemal Ergulec, vice president of Turkish railroad services, said Train 1106 was en route from Istanbul to Ankara when four cars derailed bar near Pamukova, a small town near the epicenter of a 1999 earthquake.
Pamukova Mayor Feridun Turan said six cars derailed, and predicted that the death toll would approach 100.
The cause of the wreck was not known, he said.
The train, which as packed at capacity with about 230 passengers, departed Istanbul at 6 p.m. (11 a.m. ET). The wreck occurred at 7:45 p.m. (12:45 p.m. ET), he said.
Rescue operations were under way.
CNN Turk Correspondent Aysen Atasir contributed to this story
Copyright 2004 CNN
.
http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/europe/07/22/turkey.train.accident/index.html