ITALY: Train crash on Rome's underground metro system has killed at least one person, injured 110.

A train on Rome's underground metro system rammed into the back of another at high speed on Tuesday (October 17, 2006), killing at least one person and injuring 110 others, five seriously, authorities said. Earlier, officials had said two people had been killed. The difference was apparently due to confusion at the scene. Officials at the scene, the Piazza Vittorio metro station just south of the main overground rail terminal in the city centre, said there was no indication the accident was related to terrorism. The accident happened when one train arriving at the station crashed into the back of another that was still discharging passengers. Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi was in contact with transport officials after the crash happened. "I immediately called Minister of Transport Bianchi, who was there, and the Mayor of Rome to be informed of what was happening. They are still looking into whether it was a human mistake or if something went wrong with the signalling. I think it was a case in which the trains were brand new and there was no visible technical fault at the moment. Now let us give our condolences to the casualties and let us stay close to the ones who are in hospital," Prime Minister Romano Prodi told Reuters. The injured, many of them spattered with blood, were taken to six hospitals in or near the city centre causing traffic chaos. "I saw absolutely everything. Absolutely everything, everything, everything. I was heading into court -- I'm a lawyer. I saw with total clarity the signal, which was on red. Luckily, I was able to take stock of the situation. I saw the metro in front of me. It was the new type, just like the one we were riding on. It was stopped at the stop, Piazza Vittorio. It seemed that this train was getting closer and closer and we were not doing anything to avoid it. It seems that nobody noticed, at least that's my opinion. At a certain point, I jumped back as I felt that we were on the verge of an impact in a few seconds time. Then the wall of the metro just came at me and I managed to not be crushed under it as I had just jumped back a few seconds earlier. It really was a big impact," said Fabiano DeSantis, a lawyer. "Look, I saw the signals were on 'red'. And then the next thing that I saw was this metro in front of me that was stopped -- stopped -- and we were just headed into the back of it. It was a really clear sensation. I saw this metro get closer and closer and we just went into it without breaking. Without breaking. Absolutely. It was a tremendous impact," DeSantis said. The entire system of Rome metro's Line A was shut down and ground traffic was backed up throughout the city as ambulances took the injured to hospitals.

ITN Source | October 18, 2006

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