Two dead in Stadler tram derailment in Milan
Keystone-SDA
Two people died and several others were injured in a tram accident in Milan on Friday afternoon. The derailed tram was manufactured by Swiss firm Stadler Rail.
“We confirm that the tragic accident in Milan involved a Tramlink Milano vehicle,” a Stadler spokesperson told the news agency AWP on Friday evening in response to an enquiry. Stadler is in close contact with the operator Azienda Trasporti Milanesi and is supporting them in analysing the cause of the accident.
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Around 40 people – most of them passengers – were injured in the northern Italian metropolis, according to the fire brigade. The public prosecutor’s office opened an investigation into negligent homicide and personal injury. The tram, a modern model, had reportedly only been in service for a few months.
The accident occurred on Friday afternoon in the centre of the city with a population of 1.3 million. For an as yet unexplained reason, a fully occupied tram on line 9 collided with a building at an intersection at around 4.00 pm.
According to eyewitnesses, the tram should have been travelling straight ahead, but turned left at high speed and derailed. It only came to a halt in the entrance area of a restaurant. The driver’s cab was badly damaged.
The two fatalities were passengers: a 60-year-old Italian and a man from Senegal, whose age was initially not specified by the authorities.
The driver of the tram was taken to hospital with injuries. Before the accident, he is said to have ignored a stop. As is usual in such cases, blood samples were taken for an alcohol and drug test.
Fashion Week is currently underway in Milan, which is once again attracting many foreign visitors to the city after the Winter Olympics that concluded last Sunday.
Adapted from German by AI/ac
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