Turkey: Sabotage ruled out in train crash

However, while a deliberate act to derail the train, which left the rails near the north western town of Pamukova in the province of Sakarya at 7:45 pm, killing 36 passengers and leaving another 81 injured, has been ruled out, Suleyman Karaman, the head of the State Rail Authority (TCDD) said all other causes were being investigate.
“There is no sabotage,” he said. However, we are assessing all possibilities.”
The TCDD and the government have come under fire for launching the new high speed train, which only entered operations on June 4, without adequately upgrading the line between Ankara and Istanbul. Some experts have said the maximum speed that could be used on the section of track where the crash occurred was 50 kilometres an hour. Some reports suggested the train was travelling at speeds in excess of 130 kilometres an hour only minuts before the crash.
Karaman said that this was not the case.
“Technical teams are continuing to work at the site of the accident,” he said. “But I have to underline that the speed of all our trains here is the same because it is a region with bends.”