Four people were killed and 67 others injured in a train collision in Turkey's northwestern Kocaeli Province, Turkish Prime Ministry Emergency Management Directorate General said on Wednesday.

The Emergency Management Directorate General said in a statement that "the accident occurred at 16:30 local time (1330 GMT) after a train traveling from Ankara to Istanbul failed to stop at the red light and collided head-on with the Adapazari Express."

The two trains, Baskent Express and Adapazari Express, collided near Tavsancil hamlet of Gebze town in northwestern Kocaeli Province.

Baskent Express departed from Ankara, capital of Turkey, to Istanbul, the largest city of Turkey. Adapazari Express departed from Istanbul, heading to the city of Adapazari in the northwest.

The train traveling from Ankara was carrying 171 passengers and nine crew members, the Anatolia news agency said.

Many ambulances raced to the site, and rescue teams have pulled out the bodies from the railway cars, said the report.

Adapazari Express was severely damaged with many passengers being trapped inside, Turkish private NTV reported.

The injured were rushed to hospitals nearby for treatment.

On July 22, a high-speed train from Istanbul to Ankara derailed in northwestern Turkey, killing 39 people and injuring 80 others.?

(Xinhua News Agency August 12, 2004)