A high-speed train crashed into a locomotive in the Turkish capital on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 43, the Ankara governor said.

Governor Vasip Sahin told reporters in televised remarks that “43 people were injured and unfortunately four of our citizens were found dead”, as the fast train was on its way to the central province of Konya.

“This morning there was an accident after the 6.30 high-speed train to Konya hit a locomotive tasked with checking rails on the same route,” Sahin said.

The governor added that search and rescue efforts continued as “technical investigations” were underway to find out exactly what caused the crash in Yenimahalle district.

Images published by Turkish media showed some wagons had derailed and debris from the train scattered on the rail track.

The Ankara public prosecutor has launched an investigation into the crash, state news agency Anadolu reported.

The accident comes after another train disaster in July when 24 people were killed and hundreds more injured after a train derailed in Tekirdag province, northwest Turkey, due to ground erosion following heavy rains.

AFP