A tram derailed and smashed into a building in Milan on Friday, killing two people and injuring 38 others, police told AFP.

One of the dead was hit by the tram as it derailed and the second victim was a passenger, the city's mayor Giuseppe Sala told reporters at the scene.

An initial investigation suggested the driver had not activated a track switch. He had also run through the last stop on the line before the accident, Sala said.

He said the tram was new and the driver was "an expert", whose shift had only begun an hour before the accident.

"It doesn't look like it was a technical issue, but was connected to the driver," Sala added.

The driver was in hospital but not seriously injured, he said.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed "deepest condolences" over the deaths. Transport Minister Matteo Salvini, who is from Milan, said he was "grieved" by the accident and called for answers. (AFP)



Edited by Robert Kemp