MILAN, Italy – A tram derailed and smashed into a building in Milan on Friday, 27 February, killing two people and injuring at least 38 others, local police have confirmed.
One of the dead was hit by the tram as it derailed and the second victim was a passenger, the city’s mayor Giuseppe Sala told reporters at the scene.
Firemen wrapped survivors in emergency blankets whilst ambulances took the more seriously injured to hospital.
The accident came only days after Milan finished hosting the 2026 Winter Olympics. The city is preparing to host the Paralympics and is currently staging Milan Fashion Week.
Witness accounts
“There was a man who was trapped under the tram, his arm was trapped,” witness Valerio Gaglione said.
“There were lots of people injured inside the tram, I saw an old man completely covered in blood,” he added.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed “deepest condolences” over the deaths.
Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, who is from Milan, said he was “grieved” by the accident and called for answers.
Investigation underway
Prosecutor Marcello Viola, the lead investigator, said the impact between the tram and the building was “devastating”.
One victim was an Italian in his 60s, Sala said. The other was a Senegalese man who died on the way to hospital, media reported.
An initial investigation suggested the driver had not activated a track switch. He had also run through the last stop on the line before the accident, Sala said.
The tram was new and the driver had years of experience. His shift had only begun an hour before the accident, Sala said.
“It doesn’t look like it was a technical issue, but was connected to the driver,” he added.
Driver claims illness
The driver, hospitalised but not seriously injured, said he had “felt ill” before the crash, according to media reports.
A video widely shared on Italian media from a car camera showed the tram leaning over to one side as it raced into a curve towards the building, before lurching to the other side and crashing.
As the tram careens past, a delivery man can be seen leaping to safety from his bicycle, whilst a passerby also races out of the way.
“I just heard an enormous bang,” a 27-year-old called Anna, who was in her office nearby when the crash happened, said.
The yellow and white tram, which is 25 metres long and seats 66 people, could be seen slung across the road.
It was not immediately clear if it had been breaking the 50 kilometres per hour speed limit for trams.
Witnesses said it smashed into a tree before crashing through the window of a restaurant.
The Japanese Robatakan restaurant posted a photograph on its Instagram page of the damage caused and expressed its “closeness to all those involved”.
One passenger told the ANSA news agency: “I thought it was an earthquake.”
“I was sitting and ended up on the floor, along with the other passengers. It was terrible.”
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