Tehran: a passenger train traveling through the eastern Iran An excavator and about half of its cars derailed on Wednesday morning, killing at least 22 people and injuring 87, officials said.
derailment near desert city Tabas The latest disaster to strike the Islamic Republic in recent weeks was Tehran Conflict under US sanctions and any return to its nuclear deal with world powers remains in doubt.
The train, operated by the state-run Islamic Republic Railway, transported some 350 people to the city of Yazd, traveling from the city of Tabas, about 550 kilometers (340 mi) southeast of Tehran. The route started as an overnight train from the holy city of Mashhad in Iran.
Based on images from the aftermath of the accident, it appears that the locomotive of the train crossed the excavator and that subsequent cars somehow hit the excavator and derailed, although officials did not immediately state this. That’s how the disaster happened in rural scrubland near the railway bridge.
“The passengers were bouncing in the car like balls in the air,” an unidentified injured passenger told Iranian state television.
state-run IRNA News Agency Casualty figures were given, citing emergency officials.
Rescue teams with ambulances and helicopters reached remote areas where communication is poor. Officials said more than a dozen people were seriously injured, some of whom were shifted to local hospitals.
Aerial footage of the desert site of the disaster showed train cars toward them, with some rescuers rushing to the scene as they tried to care for the wounded.
State TV later aired pictures from a hospital where the injured were being treated. One of the injured told the broadcaster that he felt the train brake suddenly and then slow down before derailing.
The incident took place about 50 kilometers (30 mi) outside Tabas.
The report said that the accident is being investigated. Preliminary reports suggest that the train collided with an excavator near the track, although it was not immediately clear why an excavator would have been close to the train track in the dark. An official suggested that it could be part of a repair project.
President of Iran Ibrahim Raisi Condoled the accident and announced that its cause would be investigated. On Wednesday night, officials ordered the arrest of six people allegedly involved in the crash, although they did not release any other information about why they were suspected.
Iran’s worst train accident occurred in 2004, when a runaway train loaded with gasoline, fertilizer, sulfur and cotton crashed near the historic city of Neshabur, killing 320 people, injuring 460 others and damaging five villages. In 2016, a train collision in northern Iran killed at least 43 people and injured nearly 100.
Iran has approximately 14,000 kilometers (8,700 mi) of railway lines across the country which is about two and a half times the size of Texas. Its rail system transports both people and goods across the country, especially in rural areas.
Iran has about 17,000 annual deaths on its highways, one of the world’s worst traffic safety records. The high tolls are attributed to widespread disregard for traffic laws, unsafe vehicles and inadequate emergency services.
Iran, already under tensions over US sanctions over its collapsed nuclear deal, is mourning the death of at least 41 people in a building collapse in the country’s southwest city of Abadan in May.
derailment near desert city Tabas The latest disaster to strike the Islamic Republic in recent weeks was Tehran Conflict under US sanctions and any return to its nuclear deal with world powers remains in doubt.
The train, operated by the state-run Islamic Republic Railway, transported some 350 people to the city of Yazd, traveling from the city of Tabas, about 550 kilometers (340 mi) southeast of Tehran. The route started as an overnight train from the holy city of Mashhad in Iran.
Based on images from the aftermath of the accident, it appears that the locomotive of the train crossed the excavator and that subsequent cars somehow hit the excavator and derailed, although officials did not immediately state this. That’s how the disaster happened in rural scrubland near the railway bridge.
“The passengers were bouncing in the car like balls in the air,” an unidentified injured passenger told Iranian state television.
state-run IRNA News Agency Casualty figures were given, citing emergency officials.
Rescue teams with ambulances and helicopters reached remote areas where communication is poor. Officials said more than a dozen people were seriously injured, some of whom were shifted to local hospitals.
Aerial footage of the desert site of the disaster showed train cars toward them, with some rescuers rushing to the scene as they tried to care for the wounded.
State TV later aired pictures from a hospital where the injured were being treated. One of the injured told the broadcaster that he felt the train brake suddenly and then slow down before derailing.
The incident took place about 50 kilometers (30 mi) outside Tabas.
The report said that the accident is being investigated. Preliminary reports suggest that the train collided with an excavator near the track, although it was not immediately clear why an excavator would have been close to the train track in the dark. An official suggested that it could be part of a repair project.
President of Iran Ibrahim Raisi Condoled the accident and announced that its cause would be investigated. On Wednesday night, officials ordered the arrest of six people allegedly involved in the crash, although they did not release any other information about why they were suspected.
Iran’s worst train accident occurred in 2004, when a runaway train loaded with gasoline, fertilizer, sulfur and cotton crashed near the historic city of Neshabur, killing 320 people, injuring 460 others and damaging five villages. In 2016, a train collision in northern Iran killed at least 43 people and injured nearly 100.
Iran has approximately 14,000 kilometers (8,700 mi) of railway lines across the country which is about two and a half times the size of Texas. Its rail system transports both people and goods across the country, especially in rural areas.
Iran has about 17,000 annual deaths on its highways, one of the world’s worst traffic safety records. The high tolls are attributed to widespread disregard for traffic laws, unsafe vehicles and inadequate emergency services.
Iran, already under tensions over US sanctions over its collapsed nuclear deal, is mourning the death of at least 41 people in a building collapse in the country’s southwest city of Abadan in May.