Italy opens metro crash inquiry

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Italian magistrates have launched an inquiry into a collision between two underground trains in Rome.

A 30-year-old Italian woman died during the accident, when one train smashed into the back of another.

Investigators will examine whether the cause of the crash was human error or a mechanical fault.

The Pope has expressed his condolences to the family of the victim, Alessandra Lisi, as well as the scores of others injured during the collision.

Multiple probes

The wreckages of both trains were removed from the crash site overnight but two metro stations on Rome's A line remain closed.

EUROPEAN TRAIN ACCIDENTS October 2006: Five killed in collision between two trains in north-eastern FranceSeptember 2006: A German monorail train crashes during a test run killing 23 peopleAugust 2006: A train derailment kills six and injures 36 in northern SpainJune 2006: Forty-one people are killed when a metro train derails in the Spanish city of Valencia January 2006: At least 44 people are killed and more than 180 injured when a train plunges into a ravine in southern Montenegro <a href="/1/hi/world/europe/6058202.stm" class="">Rail disaster history</a>

Piazza Vittorio Emanuele II station, the scene of the crash, is expected to re-open on Thursday morning.

There have been reports that the moving train had passed a red light but its driver, who was injured, has told police he has no memory of the event.

The magistrate in charge of the inquiry has visited the driver in hospital but he has been unable to provide details of exactly what happened, Italian news agency Ansa reports.

A black box device - similar to a flight recorder and installed in the train - will be examined for clues as to the cause of the crash, the agency says.

A total of three investigations - including one carried out by the ministry of transport and an internal inquiry by the train operating company - have already begun, Reuters news agency reports.

The crash was the first fatal accident to hit the Italian metro system and came after new trains were recently unveiled on the network.