TEHRAN, Jun 9 (NNN-IRNA) – The death toll in a passenger train derailment in eastern Iran yesterday, increased to 17, according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency.
The Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) put the number of wounded at 50.
The incident occurred at 5:30 a.m. local time (0100 GMT), as the train was moving from the eastern city of Tabas, to the central province of Yazd, the agency quoted Mehdi Valipour, head of the IRCS’s Rescue and Relief Organisation, as saying.
Teams of rescuers have been dispatched to the site of the incident, which is located 50 kilometres off Tabas, he said, adding, ambulances and helicopters have been sent to the site.
It was reported that there were 348 people on board the train.
The train, colliding with an excavator, parked alongside the railroad, was reportedly to be the cause of the accident.– NNN-IRNA
