At least 10 people have died and dozens injured when two passenger trains ploughed into each other, it has been reported.
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The ANSA news agency and Sky TG24 reported that the trains, which each had four cars, collided head-on.
The cars clearly slammed into one another: They rested crumpled together like an accordion, off the tracks at sharp angles.
Pictures from the scene in the Puglia region showed both trains were on the same track about 15 kilometers south of the Adriatic Sea, apparently headed toward each other.
The railway is privately owned by the Ferrotramviaria company, founded by Count Ugo Pasquini in 1937.
It was not clear how many people had been on the trains.
Mr Renzi called the crash “a moment of tears” and pledged not to stop investigating until a cause has been determined.
“The impact was significant, and we are now verifying the consequences”, said Giovanni De Siervo of Italy’s civil protection service.
Update: The death toll has now risen to more than 20.
ANSA said ambulances and fire trucks were reaching the scene.
“It was an enormous accident, a very violent crash”, said Transport Minister Graziano Delrio, who arrived on at the scene along with two ministry inspectors to aid the investigation.
A woman who is eight months pregnant was on board a train in Italy when it crashed head-on into another, killing 20.
Italy’s national rail service, Ferrovia dello Stato, identified the company in a statement Tuesday, offering its condolences and support services.
Rescuers climbed among the bent metal and smashed glass of the two trains to get to trapped passengers, which reportedly include university students and children.
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“There was a head on collision on a single track, several carriages were completely crushed and the emergency workers are pulling people out of the train, there are many injured”, he said.
