Tragedy in Milan , where a tram on line 9 derailed , crashing off the tracks into a building and hitting people, many of whom remained trapped in the wreckage.

It happened shortly after 4pm on Viale Vittorio Veneto with the vehicle proceeding from Piazza Repubblica towards Porta Venezia.

Il tram deragliato a Milano (foto Ansa)

Numerous ambulances responded to the scene, with the Regional Emergency Agency (AREU) updating the death toll to 2 dead and 49 injured. One of the victims is a sixty-year-old resident of Abbiategrasso, who was thrown from the tram and then ended up under the vehicle. The other victim, a Senegalese national, was another passenger on the tram. He was taken to the hospital with critical condition and later died at the Niguarda Hospital.

"A devastating impact," said Milan's chief prosecutor Marcello Viola, who is investigating charges of manslaughter and negligent assault.

I soccorsi (foto Ansa)

Milan's mayor, Giuseppe Sala, also went to Viale Vittorio Veneto to see for himself what had happened and inquire about the conditions of the injured.

"I felt sick, I felt unwell," is what the driver of the derailed tram reportedly told colleagues who intervened on Viale Vittorio Veneto, as reported by the ANSA news agency. The man, who was taken to the hospital for checks, will be interviewed by investigators as part of the investigation into the incident.

To accurately reconstruct the accident, local security cameras and the testimonies of the numerous passengers on the tram will also be useful. The only certainty at this time is the tram's extremely high speed.

(Unioneonline)

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