At Least 17 Dead After Train Derails In Iran

At least 17 people have died due to a train derailment in eastern Iran.

Earlier today (8 June) in the early hours of the morning (June 8), a reported 350 passenger train was travelling from Mashhad to Yazd when four of the seven cars in the train derailed near Tabas, Iranian, AP reports.

The derailment happened roughly 30 miles outside of Tabas on the rail line that links the city to the central city of Yazd.

Ambulances and helicopters arrived in the remote area to help transfer injured people to local hospitals.

The number of casualties could rise while 30 other passengers are said to have been injured, five of which are in critical condition, according to People's Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK).

One of those who were injured told the broadcaster: "Passengers were bouncing in the car like balls in the air."

Red Crescent Rescue Organization boss, Mehdi Valipour, told Iranian news agency ISNA: “At 5.30am today, the Tabas-Yazd passenger train was travelling on its route when it derailed at Mazino station.”

He continued: "To help the rescue effort, it was arranged to bring three helicopters from Birjand, Mashhad and Yazd to the scene."

Rail official Mir Hassan Mousavi told ISNA: "According to initial information, the passenger cars of the train collided with an excavator and derailed."

Mojtaba Khaledi, the country's emergency spokesman, said: "Three emergency helicopters and 10 ambulances have been sent to the scene.

"Relief work is still going on in the area and according to the reports received so far, unfortunately 10 people have been killed."

While the crash is currently still under investigation, it has been suggested that the train collided with an excavator near the track, however this is yet to be confirmed.

One official has suggested that the excavator could have been part of a repair project.

Back in 2004, Iran's worst train disaster saw some 320 people killed and 460 injured after a runaway train, which was loaded with gasoline, fertiliser, sulphur and cotton, crashed near Neyshabur.

While in 2016, another train crash killed dozens and injuries a number of people.

Iran's railway lines run for 8,700 miles and are used to send people and goods across the country. However, Iran has one of the world’s worst traffic safety records, with around 17,000 annual deaths on its highways,

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