Two trains collide head-on in Istanbul, injuring 7

ISTANBUL

Two trains have collided head-on early on Sept. 8 in the Tuzla district of Istanbul, with no casualties reported.

“Seven citizens have been slightly injured in the incident,” the Governor’s Office said in a statement.

According to eyewitnesses, the ADA train, serving between Istanbul’s Pendik district and the northwestern province of Adapazarı, could not stop in the Pendik station and hit the high-speed train, which was waiting at the Tuzla station, while going under-speed at 8:45 a.m.

“The high-speed train was coming from [the Central Anatolian province of] Konya. A slight buffer touch has happened between the trains,” the statement added.

“A big noise emerged. My relative who was sitting near me hit her head to the front seat, but I am fine,” Muzaffer Baydu, a passenger who witnessed the incident told the Demirören News Agency.

Railway authorities pulled the ADA train’s railcars back to separate the vehicle from the high-speed train.

The reason for the crash was not announced as authorities were working on the possibility of a signal error.

Train services continued after a short pause.