Rome – Two people have died and about 110 were hurt, including 10 with life-threatening injuries, in a commuter train crash near Milan, a regional government spokesperson said on Thursday.
The six-carriage Trenord train left Cremona, a city about 90 kilometres south-east of Milan, at about 5:30 am (0430 GMT) and derailed at around 7 a.m. near the suburban municipality of Pioltello.
Chiara Ambrosio, Milan Deputy Police Chief, told broadcaster SkyTG24 that people were still being pulled out of the wrecked carriages, “it was commuter hour, the train was full.”
Footage from the scene showed that only the central carriages derailed, suggesting that the accident may have been caused by a malfunctioning railway switch.
Helicopters were taking the injured to nearby hospitals.
Italian Railtrack Company Rete Ferroviaria Italiana said rail traffic on the eastbound line out of Milan was suspended following the accident.
The last deadly railway accident in Italy took place in July 2016, when 23 people were killed in a double train collision between Corato and Andria, near the south-eastern city of Bari.
