TCDD Director General: This Accident Shouldn't Have Happened Since Trains Aren't Going Fast In This Region

ANKARA/PAMUKOVA - The train accident should not have happened since trains were not going fast when passing through the region where the high-speed train en route from Istanbul to Ankara derailed, Suleyman Karaman, Director General of Turkish State Railways (TCDD), said on Thursday.
Karaman told A.A correspondent, ``we haven`t increased speed of the trains in this region. This accident shouldn`t have happened at this speed. This is not normal.``
The high-speed train was going as speedy as the other trains when passing through Pamukova town of northwestern Sakarya province, Karaman said.
Karaman noted, ``this accident has nothing to do with the speed.``
Stating that the locomotive did not go off the tracks, Karaman said, ``this accident couldn`t have happened in normal case.``
Karaman stated that there were many dead and injured in the derailed train, but the death toll and the number of the injured were not immediately clear.
The train derailed near Pamukova town around 7.45 p.m. The train left Istanbul at 6.0 p.m. with more than 200 passengers.
Most of the dead and injured were travelling in the first two cars.
On the other hand, efforts continue to pull out the dead and the injured from the derailed cars.
Witnesses say that many died in the train accident.
The injured are being taken to hospitals.
Meanwhile, Sakarya Deputy Governor Orhan Alimoglu is going to the scene of the accident.
(BRC) 22.07.2004