Passengers dead, dozens injured in head-on train collision in Italy

IT’S not yet known if any Australians have been killed or injured in a deadly high-speed train crash in southern Italy, which killed at least 25 and injured dozens.

AT least 25 people have been killed and dozens are injured after two passenger trains collided head-on at high speed in southern Italy, sending debris flying into surrounding olive groves.

Three carriages were torn apart by the violence of the impact after the two trains hit each other while travelling down the same stretch of track linking the small towns of Corato and Andria in the southeastern Puglia region.

Rescue operators raised the death toll to 25 after a day of frantic rescue operations, and warned that it could climb higher as some of the 50 injured were in serious condition.

Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs says embassy officials in Rome are trying to determine if any Australians were caught up in the disaster.

There was no immediate indication of what had caused one of Italy’s worst train disasters in recent years, but the government promised a full and swift investigation.

Crumpled wagon cars are seen after two commuter trains collided head-on near the town of Andria, in the southern region of Puglia. Picture: Italian Firefighter Press Office via AP

“Tears and grief for the victims and their families, but also a lot of anger. We demand clarity over what happened in Puglia this morning,” Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said on Twitter, before making his way to the region to meet with rescuers and local politicians.

Both trains were comprised of four carriages.

The front carriages on each were pulverised as they slammed into one another.

Sky Italia TV said one of the drivers had died, with no word yet about the fate of the other one.

“It looks like there has been a plane crash,” said the mayor of Corato, Massimo Mazzilli.

Italian firefighters search among debris at the scene of a train accident after two commuter trains collided head-on near the town of Andria, in the southern region of Puglia. Picture: AP

Rescue services parked their ambulances and fire trucks among the olive trees and set up a field hospital to treat the injured. “I dug through the wreckage and managed to save my husband. But I saw people cut to pieces,” said an elderly woman standing alongside her husband, whose head was swathed in bandages.

Another survivor said he was thrown to the floor by the impact.

It was not clear how many people had been on the trains at the time of the collision.

By midafternoon a giant crane had arrived at the scene to start lifting the smashed carriages to see if any bodies were trapped under the wreckage.

A spokesman from the Australian Department of Froreign Affairs and Trade said it was unclear if any Aussies were on board.

“The Australian Embassy in Rome is making urgent enquires with local authorities to determine whether any Australians have been involved in the train crash in southern Italy,” he said in a statement.

Rescuers work on the scene of a train accident in the southern region of Puglia, killing at least 25 passengers. Picture: AFP

Footage from the scene showed emergency services racing to extract people from two smashed carriages thrown across the tracks in the incident, which happened on a single track stretch of line.

Italy’s PM said the train crash ‘‘is a moment of tears” and has pledged not to stop until a cause is determined.

Matteo Renzi was speaking in Milan after the head-on collision in the southern region of Puglia.

“This is a moment for tears in which we need to work to recover the victims and wounded,” he added.

A policeman standing near crashed carriages after a head-on collision between two trains between Ruvo and Corato, in the southern Italian region of Puglia. Picture: AFP

“Some of the carriages are utterly crumpled and the rescue services are pulling people out, many are wounded,” Riccardo Zingaro, head of traffic police in Andria, told journalists from the scene.

Renzi said he was returning immediately to Rome following the crash.

Investigators said it was possible the collision was caused by human error.

One of the four-carriage trains was supposed to have waited at a station for a green light before heading down the single track between the towns of Corato and Andria.

A view of the scene of a train accident after two commuter trains collided head-on near the town of Andria. Picture: Italian Firefighter Press Office via AP

The two trains that crashed head-on in Italy’s southern Puglia region belong to a local private rail company, Ferrotramviaria SpA.

Italy’s national rail service, Ferrovia dello Stato, identified the company in a statement, offering its condolences and support services.

Ferrotramviaria is a Bari-based private train company that connects the capital of Puglia with regional towns to the north and the airport, operating about 20 small electric trains. It was founded in 1937 and serves students and commuters.