At least 11 dead in Italian train accident

At least 11 people have been killed and 25 injured after a landslide derailed a local train carrying commuters and students in northern Italy.

A fire service spokesman said that five of those injured were in a serious condition following the accident which happened during the morning rush hour.

Thomas Widmann, transport adviser to the Bolzano provincial government said the landslide which derailed the two-carriage train, appeared to have been caused by a burst irrigation pipe.

Television images showed the train had slid down a slope and been stopped by a line of trees.

One theory is that the trees saved the packed train from plunging into a river below.