Freight trains collide in northern Italy

Two freight trains collided early Sunday outside a station in northwest Italy, killing at least three railway workers and gravely injuring another.

Two freight trains collided early Sunday outside a station in northwest Italy, killing at least three railway workers and gravely injuring another.

Firefighters were searching for two other workers believed trapped in the wreckage.

The accident happened at 3:45 a.m. a few hundred meters (yards) outside the station at the small town of Solignano, 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the city of Parma.

State railway officials said it appeared the train leaving the station may have failed to heed a red light.

The six railway workers, some of whom had been returning to base after their shifts, were the only people believed aboard the trains at the time.

The accident happened on a local line and no major disruptions were expected to rail traffic.