Italy Train Derailment Kills at Least 2

A high-speed train derailed before dawn on Thursday in northern Italy, killing two railroad employees, injuring 28 other people and prompting renewed concerns about the country’s transportation infrastructure.

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The passenger train was traveling near its top speed of more than 180 miles per hour when the engine pulling it became detached and the second car went off the tracks at about 5:30 a.m. near the town of Lodi, 19 miles south of Milan, Angelo Borrelli, chief of the Civil Protection, Italy’s emergency services agency, told local radio stations.

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Local news reports and the authorities said the engine slammed into a railroad building, killing two drivers who were at the front of the train. Another employee, a cleaner, suffered several arm fractures and 27 passengers suffered nonlife-threatening injuries.

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The cause of the crash was not immediately clear. The authorities said they had begun an investigation.

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The train, which is part of a popular high-speed rail service known as Frecciarossa, or Red Arrow, left Milan early Thursday and was en route to Bologna when it derailed on the heavily used route. Its final destination was Salerno, in the southern region of Campania, where it was to arrive at 11:27 a.m.

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Videos shared by fire and rescue services on social media showed a train car flipped on its side while apparently still attached to other cars.