Disaster as Train crashed head-to-head on same lane near the city of Bari in Italy, leaving 20 people dead and many injured

At least 20 people has died and many injured as two passenger trains collide  head-to-head in near the city of Bari in Italy on Tuesday, officials said.

The two train crashed on the same lane on Tuesday as they were coming opposite each other near the city of Bari in Italy.

An aerial view showed that the carriages smashed and crumpled by the force of the impact, with debris flung out amongst olive trees, which flanked both sides of the track. Both rails were made up of four carriages.

Luca Cari, a fire service spokesman said, "We are working with dozens of rescue teams to open up the carriages," He further said, a young boy has been saved from the incident.

"The rescue is complicated because this happened in the middle of the countryside," he said.

There was no immediate reason given for the collision, which took place at around 11:30 am (09:30 GMT) in the region of Puglia, It might be a 'Human error likely'

However, investigators was quoted by the AFP news agency that it was likely that the collision was caused by human error.

One of the four carriage trains was supposed to have waited at a station for a green light before heading down the single track between Corato and Andria, investigators reportedly said.

Matteo Renzi, the Prime Minister Matteo Renzi said that authorities "will not stop until a clear explanation over what happened is provided".

"This is a moment for tears in which we need to work to recover the victims and wounded," he said also, cutting short a visit to Milan in northern Italy to return to Rome. 

A regional rail company called, Ferrotramviaria, is in charge of operating the railway track, officials say, the number of passengers that were on the passenger trains are unknown at the moment.

Ferrotramviaria SPA, the company that operates the rail track has released a brief statement.

It wrote on its Facebook page: “Trains have been stopped and a bus replacement service established.”

Italy’s national rail service, Ferrovia dello Stato, identified the company in a statement, in which it also offered its condolences and support services.

Ferrotramviaria is a Bari based company which connects the capital of Puglia with regional towns to the north and the airport, operating about 20 small electric trains.

The last time a major rail disaster happened in Italy was in 2009 when a freight train derailed in Viareggio, in the centre of the country, leaving more than 30 people dead that were living close to the train tracks.

The train hit the platform of a station and overturned.

Some of the wagons were reported to have been carrying liquefied petroleum gas, and two of them exploded and caught fire.