Train Jumps Tracks; 8 Killed, 29 Hurt

An express train rounding a curve in northern Italy shot off the tracks, killing eight people and injuring at least 29. The train was half an hour into its trip from Milan to Rome when it left the tracks about 200 yards before a station in Piacenza, police said. The first passenger car--where some of the fatalities occurred--plowed into an electrical pylon, said Federico Manzella, a railway spokesman. Former President Francesco Cossiga was aboard the train but not hurt. Authorities speculated that it could have been caused by an obstacle on the track or excessive speed.