Tram derails in Milan, leaving two dead and dozens injured

At least two people have been killed and up to 40 others are reported to have been injured, after a tram derailed in the northern Italian city of Milan.

The crowded tram was travelling on the line 9 route along Milan's Viale Vittorio Veneto at about 16:00 local time (15:00 GMT) when it left the track and crashed into a building.

One of the people who died, a 60-year-old man, is thought to have been a pedestrian hit by the tram, while the other fatality and most of the injured were passengers.

Numerous ambulances went to the scene as reports emerged of people trapped in the wreckage.

Passengers described hearing a noise underneath the tram, after which it veered off its track, gathered speed and went into the side of a building.

"I thought it was an earthquake. I was sitting down and I fell on the floor, along with the other passengers," one man told Ansa news agency. "It was terrible."

As it left the track, the tram apparently first hit a traffic light before smashing the window of a restaurant. A delivery rider waiting at the traffic light and a young man on a pavement narrowly escaped injury, La Repubblica website reported.

"I got on at the first stop, [Piazza della] Repubblica," one female passenger told Corriere della Sera. "I was standing next to the driver, and they all crashed into me."

"I just heard an enormous bang," said 27-year-old Anna, who was in an office nearby, quoted by AFP. "I saw a bit of the tram had gone into a shop."

Civil protection teams have set up a tent at the scene to help the injured.

It is not clear what caused the derailment, although media reports suggested the tram had taken a sharp corner too quickly, as it turned out of Viale Vittorio Veneto.

Milan Mayor Giuseppe Sala and other city officials visited the scene of the crash.

Sala said the incident was a "tragedy" and promised to investigate. The driver was "experienced", he said, and the possibility that he had been taken ill was being considered.

Transport company ATM said in a statement it was "deeply shaken" by the incident, and said its thoughts were with the victims and their families.

The incident comes at a time when the city is packed with international visitors, celebrities and journalists for Milan Fashion Week.

The three-car tram is one of a new bidirectional type with drivers' cabs at either end, introduced in the city only a few weeks ago, according to Corriere della Sera.