9 Turkish rail officials jailed for deadly train crash

A Turkish court on Thursday sentenced nine officials to jail over a train crash in 2018 that killed 25 people, reported Xinhua, quoting local media.

The verdict in the case against 13 defendants, who were on trial for "causing death and injury by negligence," was announced after six years and 20 hearings, the local NTV broadcaster reported.

Nine of the defendants on trial were sentenced to prison terms ranging from eight years and four months to 17 years and six months. Four were acquitted.

The former Turkish State Railways (TCDD) First Region Director, Nihat Aslan, was sentenced to 15 years, while the former TCDD Maintenance Director, Turgut Kurt, received 16 years. The former Maintenance Manager of the TCDD, Mumin Karasu, was jailed for 17 and a half years, receiving the heaviest sentence.

According to an expert report submitted to the Corlu 1st High Criminal Court, a rail embankment collapsed due to heavy rain. The report found the railway officials at fault for not taking precautions against severe weather conditions.

A passenger train, operated by Turkish State Railways, derailed while passing through the Corlu district in the northwestern province of Tekirdag in July 2018, killing 25 people and injuring more than 300 others.

The train was heading to Istanbul from Edirne province, near the border with Greece, with 362 passengers and six crew members, according to the Turkish Transportation Ministry. Five of the train's six cars derailed after "the ground between the culvert and the rails collapsed" due to heavy rains, the ministry said.