At least 10 people have been killed in a collision between two trains in the southern Italian region of Puglia, Italian media said Tuesday.
The two trains were on a single-track line at the time of the crash, between the coastal towns of Bari and Barletta.
Footage from the scene showed emergency services racing to extract people from two smashed carriages thrown across the tracks in the incident, which happened on a single track stretch of line. Officials said dozens of people had been injured. Italy’s prime minister says the train crash “is a moment of tears” and has pledged not to stop until a cause is determined, according to AP, which reports up to a dozen people have been killed.
Matteo Renzi was speaking in Milan after the head-on collision in the southern region of Puglia on Tuesday morning. He said he was returning to Rome immediately because of the crash and the number of victims. News reports are saying rescue workers are pulling victims from the rubble, including a small child who was alive. Video images showed ambulances responding to the scene with other rescue workers. The line is managed by Ferrotramviaria. Thousands of people use the line to the north of Bari daily on around 200 trains every day. Work is under way to make it a double-track line.