Train went off rails in Istanbul ‘iron bar’ subway accident

ISTANBUL

DHA Photo

An Istanbul subway train went off the rails during a track change before an iron bar smashed through the glass of a carriage and impaled a passenger on Sept. 29, daily Hürriyet has reported.

A 33-year-old man, identified as Fatih Çoban, was badly injured after the iron bar was thrust through his hip, in a horrifying incident that made national headlines. The iron bar was a part of a construction project that was hit after the train departed the tracks, according to reports. 

Firefighting teams managed to rescue Çoban some 40 minutes after the accident took place, and gruesome photos of him lying in blood on the ground of the carriage with the bar jammed into him went viral on social media. Çoban’s is now reportedly in a good condition after undergoing surgery at the Okmeydanı Research and Training Hospital.

An investigation has been launched to determine the exact cause of the accident, while the Istanbul Public Prosecutor’s office is considering the possibility of deliberate sabotage.

Burhan Civelek, the machinist of the metro train, has stated in his testimony that he did not know why the train had gone off the rails.

A worker who was working at the subway tunnel at the time said the consequences of the accident could have been even worse if the carriage had proceeded further.

“It would have been more terrible if the metro had completely fallen off the tracks. There is another 30-meter-long tunnel ahead, and it could have fallen there,” the worker said.

The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality is expected to release a statement following its technical teams’ examination.