A high-speed train has hit a railway engine and crashed into a pedestrian overpass at a station in the Turkish capital of Ankara, killing seven people, officials and news reports said.

The train was en route from Ankara to the central Turkish city of Konya.

Ankara governor Vasip Sahin said the high-speed train crashed into an engine that was checking the tracks at Marsandiz station in Ankara.

Rescue teams sent to the scene were looking for more survivors, he said. At least 46 people have been injured.

“Our hope is that there are no other victims,” he said.

Rescue services work at the scene
Rescue services work at the scene (Burhan Ozbilici/AP)

Private NTV television said at least two carraiges derailed. Parts of the overpass collapsed on to the train.

Several ambulances and rescue teams were sent to the scene.

It was not immediately clear if a signalling problem caused the crash. Mr Sahin said a technical inspection has begun while NTV television, quoting unnamed officials, said three prosecutors were assigned to investigate.

In July, 10 people were killed and more than 70 injured when most of a passenger train derailed in north-western Turkey, after torrential rain caused part of the tracks to collapse.

Last month, 15 people were injured when a passenger train collided with a freight train in the central province of Sivas.

Konya, about 160 miles south of Ankara, is home to the tomb of the Sufi mystic and poet Jalaladdin Rumi, attracting thousands of pilgrims and tourists.