Turkish State Railways' director blames meteorology for train derailment after months

Turkish State Railways (TCDD) General Director, who talked for the first time about the tragedy in which 25 people died in Çorlu, said that they could not get information about the rainfall from meteorology
Saturday, 08 December 2018 14:14

Turkish State Railways’ (TCDD) General Director İsa Apaydın talked for the first time about the train crash in Çorlu which took place on July 8. 25 people were killed, 341 were injured.

Apaydın stated that they did not receive any information about the area in which the derailment happened from the meteorology and continued by stating “The region of the accident is unfortunately not at a province or district center, for that reason we couldn’t get any information about the rainfall from the meteorology.”

“Praise to God, we overcame any further accidents”

Upon the Zonguldak region’s congressman’s comment on the rain starting between 2-3 pm on that day but the train crash happened at 5 pm, Apaydın said “Yes, the rain started one or two hours before the crash. Of course, Turkey went into such a tropical climate that rainfalls are sudden and shallow, so, we have witnessed many disasters in confined spaces. After this event, we encountered many incidents in railways threatening similar lines but we did not have any accidents, elhamdülillah (praise to god) we overcame them.”

Warning sensor after 25 people lost their lives

After the disaster in which 25 people lost their lives, Apaydın stated that they started to place warning sensors on lines and that it requires investment and is hard to make it wider.

"The Director admitted the neglect"

Journalist Mustafa Hoş evaluated the comments of Apaydın on social media and stated that the TCDD General Directorate couldn’t give clear answers to the congressmen’s questions in the commission and that it is the first time since the tragedy that the director is blaming meteorology. Emphasizing that Apaydın has admitted the neglect and stated: “There are no answers about why the experts were chosen unlawfully from those who made business with TCDD before, why the first aid crew arrived late, and why the passenger number was above the capacity.”

A total of 25 people were killed and 341 others were injured after the train came off the rails in Çorlu, Tekirdağ on July 8. Pictures were shared showing the eroded land below the train tracks, showing the infrastructure was poor and the railroad was not properly maintained.

Country's rail network has been hit by several fatal accidents over the last years, including the worst recent crash in which 41 were killed in the northwestern province of Sakarya in July 2004.