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Runaway Milan tram derails and crashes into building as two dead and people trapped
A tram has derailed in the Porta Venezia area of Milan, Italy and ploughed into a building killing one person and injuring at least 20 others with some people still trapped
A tram has derailed and crashed into a building leaving two dead and at least 20 injured. Local media reports say the tram careered off the tracks on Viale Vittorio Veneto in Milan, Italy.
A rescue operation is currently underway. Images show the mangled vehicle with smashed windows. The tram was coming from Piazza della Repubblica and heading towards Piazza Oberdan.
At the intersection with Via Lazzaretto it should have gone straight on but instead turned left and crashed as it was going too fast. It smashed into a building on the corner of the road, knocked out a traffic light and also broke the windows of a restaurant.
One passenger on the tram said: "I thought it was an earthquake. I was sitting down and I fell to the floor, along with the other people. It was terrible. Luckily, I only hit my knee, but the man next to me was bleeding from his head. It took me a while to get up and off the tram."
While a woman who was also a passenger said: "We heard something underneath, then the tram derailed and we were all thrown around.
It was a new Tramlink model which began operating in Milan a few weeks earlier and one of the first bidirectional trams in the city's history, with two driver's cabs, one at each end, allowing the tram to reverse direction if necessary. The tram is 25 meters long, composed of three connecting carriages, with 66 seats.
The incident came as the city is hosting its seasonal fashion shows and is in the interim between hosting the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. The Number 9 tram runs through the heart of Italy’s financial capital.
It was supposed to have continued straight along Vittorio Veneto and was going at a high speed.
According to video of the crash broadcast by Sky TG24, the tram can be seen nearly flipping on to its side as it takes the curve before slamming to a stop.
Milan mayor Beppe Sala suggested human error was to blame, saying the driver had apparently failed to switch tracks to keep the tram going straight.
He described the driver as an experienced employee who had only been on his shift for an hour. But he said he had skipped a prior stop before the crash and would be questioned from the hospital where he was being treated for his injuries.
Mr Sala confirmed two people had been killed — one passenger on the tram and one on the street. He said none of the other injured was in a life-threatening condition.
Dozens of ambulances, fire engines and police cars responded to the crash, with crews escorting passengers in thermal blankets away from the scene.
ATM, the Milan public transport company, said it was cooperating with prosecutors “to precisely establish the cause and dynamic of the incident”.
Daily Star Sunday
A tram has derailed in the Porta Venezia area of Milan, Italy and ploughed into a building killing one person and injuring at least 20 others with some people still trapped
A tram has derailed and crashed into a building leaving two dead and at least 20 injured. Local media reports say the tram careered off the tracks on Viale Vittorio Veneto in Milan, Italy.
A rescue operation is currently underway. Images show the mangled vehicle with smashed windows. The tram was coming from Piazza della Repubblica and heading towards Piazza Oberdan.
At the intersection with Via Lazzaretto it should have gone straight on but instead turned left and crashed as it was going too fast. It smashed into a building on the corner of the road, knocked out a traffic light and also broke the windows of a restaurant.
One passenger on the tram said: "I thought it was an earthquake. I was sitting down and I fell to the floor, along with the other people. It was terrible. Luckily, I only hit my knee, but the man next to me was bleeding from his head. It took me a while to get up and off the tram."
While a woman who was also a passenger said: "We heard something underneath, then the tram derailed and we were all thrown around.
It was a new Tramlink model which began operating in Milan a few weeks earlier and one of the first bidirectional trams in the city's history, with two driver's cabs, one at each end, allowing the tram to reverse direction if necessary. The tram is 25 meters long, composed of three connecting carriages, with 66 seats.
The incident came as the city is hosting its seasonal fashion shows and is in the interim between hosting the Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games. The Number 9 tram runs through the heart of Italy’s financial capital.
It was supposed to have continued straight along Vittorio Veneto and was going at a high speed.
According to video of the crash broadcast by Sky TG24, the tram can be seen nearly flipping on to its side as it takes the curve before slamming to a stop.
Milan mayor Beppe Sala suggested human error was to blame, saying the driver had apparently failed to switch tracks to keep the tram going straight.
He described the driver as an experienced employee who had only been on his shift for an hour. But he said he had skipped a prior stop before the crash and would be questioned from the hospital where he was being treated for his injuries.
Mr Sala confirmed two people had been killed — one passenger on the tram and one on the street. He said none of the other injured was in a life-threatening condition.
Dozens of ambulances, fire engines and police cars responded to the crash, with crews escorting passengers in thermal blankets away from the scene.
ATM, the Milan public transport company, said it was cooperating with prosecutors “to precisely establish the cause and dynamic of the incident”.
Daily Star Sunday