Landslide derails train in Italy leaving nine dead

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Rescue workers at the scene of the derailment

A landslide has derailed a train in north-eastern Italy, killing at least nine people and injuring about 30, Italian media say.

Monday's accident occurred in a valley near the winter sports town of Merano, close to the Austrian border.

Trees prevented the train plunging into a river, and firefighters are said to have used cables to secure the wagons.

Officials say the landslide may have been caused by a leaking water pipe further up the hillside.

An investigation is under way.

The accident took place at around 0900 (0700 GMT) on the line from Castelbello to Laces, not far from the city of Bolzano.

It is now only a few trees that are holding up the train and preventing it falling into the river Eyewitness Alex Rowbotham Watching the rescue effort In pictures: Italy derailment

The authorities say the mass of water, mud and rock came without warning, burying the regional train as it passed through the alpine valley, the BBC's Bethany Bell reports from the scene.

The death toll had been put at 11, although this was later revised down to nine because of what provincial governor Luis Durnwalder said was a "counting error".

But he warned Ansa news agency that the toll was not final as "there could still be someone buried in the mud".

The train driver is understood to be among the dead. The most seriously injured have been taken by helicopter to nearby hospitals.

Rescuers dug frantically with shovels and pickaxes in at least one mud-filled carriage to try to reach the victims, Ansa reported.

Eyewitness Alex Rowbotham told the BBC: "The front of the train, the cab, is not there at all and the train is hanging off the rails about five metres from the river.

"It is now only a few trees that are holding up the train and preventing it falling into the river."

He said the train was on the other side of the Adige river to the main road, and it appeared as if rescuers were building a pontoon across the river to enable them to carry across necessary equipment.

Thomas Widmann, transport adviser to the Bolzano provincial government, told Sky Italia that the landslide appeared to have been caused by an irrigation pipe that burst, piling rocks, debris and water on to the oncoming train.

The railway line, inaugurated in 2005, is one of the most modern in the country, Ansa said.

It runs at the foot of an alpine valley with mountains towering up to 3,000m (9,850ft) above.