Story highlights Public prosecutor says human error likely to blame

Collision happened late Tuesday morning in southeastern Italian countryside

Two trains collided head-on about 15 kilometers south of Adriatic Sea

(CNN) Two passenger trains collided head-on Tuesday morning in a rural area of southeastern Italy, killing at least 23 people and injuring more than 50 others, Italian news agency ANSA reported.

Pictures from the scene in the Puglia region showed both trains were on the same track about nine miles (15 kilometers) south of the Adriatic Sea, apparently headed toward each other.

Both trains were traveling between 62 to 68 miles per hour (100 to 110 kilometers per hour), ANSA reported.

Firefighters inspect the wreckage of two trains after a head-on collision Tuesday in the Puglia region.

Images distributed by firefighters there showed the smashed remains of train cars and a large area of scattered, twisted metal at the impact site about 4.3 miles (seven kilometers) east of the city of Andria. A hospital in Andria appealed to the public for blood donations for the injured.

One train was headed from Andria to Corato, while the other was coming in the opposite direction, ANSA reported.

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