At a press conference at the site of the crash, the governor, Vasip Sahin, said 46 people had been hurt in the crash, which took place at around 6.30 a.m. local time.
“Our hope is the number of dead does not increase, but our units are working,” Sahin said. “Once their work is complete, we will be able to share more information.”
The train collided head-on with a maintenance vehicle in Ankara’s Marsandiz station, causing part of a bridge to collapse onto two carriages, state news agency Anadolu said.
Two of those injured were in a critical condition, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca told the agency, adding no more wounded were at the crash site as of Thursday afternoon.
Video from the scene earlier Thursday showed rescuers combing through piles of warped metal while injured people were evacuated from the wreckage.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said three people had been detained in connection with the crash, and a criminal investigation launched.
“Those who are responsible will be brought forward,” Erdogan said, “and whatever is necessary will be done.”
According to Anadolu, 206 passengers were on the train at the time of the crash. Three of the dead were train conductors, while the other six were passengers.
CNN Turk said the crash took place four minutes after the train left the station.
One witness told CNN he was on his way home from work when he saw the crash. “There were many injured people waiting to be rescued,” Yasin Duvar said, adding he had helped a number of victims escape from the mangled train.
The train was en route between Ankara and Konya when it crashed, Anadolu said.
The US Embassy in Ankara expressed its “deepest condolences” to the victims of the crash.
“We share the great sorrow and wish quick recovery to the many injured,” the embassy’s official Twitter account said.
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