Train crash kills 17, injures dozens in eastern Iran

By Syed Zafar Mehdi
TEHRAN, Iran (AA) – At least 17 people were killed and several others injured after a passenger train derailed in east Iran early on Wednesday, local officials said.

The train was heading from Mashhad in northeastern Iran to the central city of Yazd when it derailed from the track near Tabas, a city in eastern Iran, 550 km southeast of Tehran.

Authorities initially put the death toll at 10, which has now jumped to 17, as search and rescue operation is underway.

The casualty toll is likely to mount as many passengers have been admitted to hospitals with critical injuries, according to emergency officials.

Iranian railway's public relations division issued a statement saying the train carrying 350 passengers collided with an excavator on the railroad at around 5:30 am local time.

Tabas Governor Ali Akbar Rahimi told local media that four wagons of the train had moved off the track after hitting the excavator.

More than 50 passengers have been reportedly injured in the incident, with more than 20 believed to be in a critical state.

Local media quoted survivors as saying that the train was moving normally when the driver suddenly pushed the break, which threw passengers off balance.

President Ebrahim Reisi, in an emergency Cabinet meeting, expressed condolences to the families of victims and ordered a probe into the cause of the crash, his office said.

Rastom Ghasemi, Minister of Roads and Urban Development, tweeted that his ministry takes responsibility for the tragic incident and said he was on his way to the accident site in Tabas.

Iran, hit hard by sanctions, has in recent years tried to modernize its ageing railway fleet by adding new or renovated trains to the national railway network.

Among the worst train accidents in the county was in 2004 when a train loaded with petrol, fertilizers and cotton crashed near northeastern city of Neshabur, killing at least 320 people.

More recently, in September 2019, a train derailment in Sistan and Baluchestan province in southeast Iran killed three people and injured dozens others.

Iran is yet to recover from the shock of a building collapse in southwestern Abadan city last month, which has so far killed 43 people.