At least 11 killed as two trains collide in southern Italy

Two trains have collided head-on in southern Italy, killing at least 11 people and injuring dozens.

The crash happened on a single stretch of track running through an olive grove between the towns of Corato and Andria. Both trains were made up of four carriages.

“We are working with dozens of rescue teams to open up the carriages,” said Luca Cari, a spokesman for the fire brigade, adding they had saved a young boy from the wreckage. “The rescue is complicated because this happened in the middle of the countryside. An  aerial image showed train carriages smashed and crumpled by the collision, with debris spread out on either side of the track into the olive grove. Just four carriages were left standing upright on the rails. A fifth had jumped off the tracks while the other three units appeared pulverized. “It looks like there has been a plane crash,” said the mayor of Corato, Massimo Mazzilli.