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Railroad worker admits he 'may have forgotten' to switch rails before deadly train crash in Ankara
Railroad worker admits he 'may have forgotten' to switch rails before deadly train crash in Ankara
A railroad worker has admitted that he "may have forgotten to operate the switch" before the deadly train crash in Ankara. Click through for the story by Hürriyet's Fevzi Kızılkoyun in photos...
A high-speed train hit a railway engine near a station in the Turkish capital Ankara on Dec. 13, killing nine people and injuring 47 others.
Three railway officers have been detained. According to their police testimonies, one of the officers, identified as Osman Y., was in charge of the railroad switch near the station.
"I had taken a train to the second line. When the high-speed train also moved in, I should have taken it to the first line, but I may have forgotten to do so," the railroad switch operator said.
The other two railroad workers under detention insisted that they fulfilled their duties according to rules.
45 more witnesses, including some passengers, have been called up to testify as part of the ongoing investigation.
The train was en route from Ankara to the central Turkish city of Konya.
Ankara Governor Vasip Şahin said the high-speed train crashed into an engine that was checking the tracks at a station in Ankara. Three engineers in two trains, as well as six passengers, were identified as the victims.
Three of the injured, who were taken out of the crushed train cars by rescue teams, were in serious condition, according to Transport Minister Mehmet Cahit Turhan.
The train was travelling at 80-90 kilometers per hour when it crashed the engine. "The engine was not supposed to be on that line," the governor added.
A second train on a commute rail has dodged the crash only with a few meters.
Two cars derailed in the crash and parts of the overpass collapsed onto the train.
Several ambulances and rescue teams were sent to the scene after the crash, as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan ordered 'mobilization of all units."
Here are more photos from the crash...
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