A total of four investigations have been launched in Italy to find out why two trains smashed into each other at a station south of Rome.
Up to 50 people were injured, 12 of them are said to be in a serious condition. Some passengers were trapped in the wreckage. One eyewitness described seeing blood everywhere.

"Let's say that considering the situation we were lucky because neither train was stationary, so it wasn't like hitting a wall," said Railway Police Commissioner Alberto Verna.

The train from Rome to Campobasso hit the regional Rome to Cassino service in Roccasecca station, around 80 kilometres from the capital.

The accident has rekindled a debate about rail safety in Italy. Last January a crash killed 17 people in the north of the country, the worst accident in nearly 25 years. Some railway workers complained that the rail network lacked investment, especially on secondary lines.

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