At least 27 people were killed and dozens more injured on Tuesday when two trains crashed in a head-on collision in the southern Italian region of Puglia, writes Josephine McKenna in Rome.

The two trains collided on a stretch of isolated track surrounded by olive trees around 11.30 a.m. between the towns of Ruvo di Puglia and Corato, around 25 miles from Bari.

Dramatic images of the crumpled carriages showed how the violent impact of the crash forced them off the rails and debris was strewn across the countryside.