17 Killed, Dozens Injured in Train Derailment in Iran
A train derailed Wednesday morning after hitting an excavator near the central Iranian city of Tabas, killing at least 17 people and injuring dozens of others, state media reported.
“Seventeen people are dead and 37 injured people have been transferred to hospital,” emergency services spokesman Mojtaba Khaledi told state television.
“The number of the dead may rise as most of the injured are in critical condition,” he said. “Twenty-four ambulances and three helicopters have been dispatched to the scene.”
Tabas is located in South Khorasan province, about 350 miles (560 kilometers) southeast of Tehran.
According to Mir Hassan Moussavi, deputy head of Iran’s state-owned railways, the train was carrying 348 passengers and “derailed after hitting an excavator” that was near the track.
Mehdi Valipour, the head of emergency operations for Iran’s Red Crescent organization, said that five of the train’s 11 cars came off the track at 5:30 am Iran Daylight Time (1 am Greenwich Mean Time).