Maximum 15-year sentence sought for 10 suspects in high-speed train crash

ANKARA

Turkish prosecutors have sought from two to 15 years in jail for 10 suspects in a case concerning the collision of a high-speed train with a service engine on Dec. 13, 2018.

The indictment prepared by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office accused the 10 suspects of “leading multiple people to death and injury,” state-run Anadolu Agency reported on Oct. 30.

Suspects in the case include train traffic controllers and other staff of the Turkish State Railways (TCDD).

Nine people were killed, and 107 others were injured when a high-speed train crashed into a pilot engine traveling along the same rails in the capital Ankara on Dec. 13, 2018. The commuter train was on route to the Central Anatolian province of Konya.

The indictment said that the crash occurred when one of the suspects, Osman Yıldırım, who was responsible for track safety, forgot to move a switch to divert the service engine to another track.

Another suspect, Kadir Oğuz, an official in charge of overlooking the Ankara high-speed train station, was indicated to be “at fault” for assigning Yıldırım on his own for duty at the time.

Other suspects were similarly indicated to be “at fault” for train safety negligence in the indictment.