Mashhad-Yazd Train Accident; Death Toll Revised from 22 to 14

Iran’s Railway Accident Commission announced in its first official statement that the driver exceeded the speed limit and obstruction of the Mashhad-Yazd passenger train’s path by a mechanical excavator were the factors causing the accident. Railway authorities have not yet taken responsibility for negligence.

The “Supreme Railway Accident Commission” released its first official statement regarding the causes of the accident four days after the Mashhad-Yazd passenger train derailed. The statement identifies two human errors as factors: obstruction of the train’s path by a mechanical excavator and the driver exceeding the permitted speed.

The commission stated that in examining evidence and field clues, as well as documentation such as recorded communications of personnel, events recorded in electrical signaling systems, data records stored in the locomotive and stations, and interrogation of staff, negligence by the line operations supervisor at the maintenance site was identified: “… The line operations supervisor at the maintenance site, without any prior coordination with control and the stations on both sides, and for the purpose of conducting mechanical excavator repairs, ordered the mechanical excavator boom to be placed inside the track to the excavator operator…”

The statement indicates that the train driver, upon seeing the mechanical excavator, sounded a continuous warning whistle and applied the brakes; however, due to the short distance, the upper part of the locomotive collided with the rotating boom of the mechanical excavator. This collision, due to the train’s excessive speed, resulted in the overturning of the second, third, and fourth cars and the derailment of cars 5 through 8.

The Supreme Railway Accident Commission stated that identification of other causes and factors is under investigation.

The railway CEO had previously reported the excessive speed of locomotive operators and the positive result of an alertness test for the excavator operator and his detention. He did not specify what the alertness test meant, but some reports have suggested the excavator operator’s addiction.

Meanwhile, the head of the parliament’s infrastructure commission told ILNA news agency that if the excavator operator’s addiction is confirmed, responsibility and regulatory negligence fall on the railway company. He added that locomotive operators were traveling at 120 kilometers per hour instead of the permitted speed of 30 kilometers per hour.

According to the chief of the South Khorasan Judiciary, a total of six people have been detained in connection with the passenger train accident.

In the latest news, while the number of victims in this incident was reported as 22, the director general of the Yazd Forensic Medicine Organization announced the final and definitive number as 14. Fariborz Aiti said on Sunday, June 22, that body identification was completed and previous statistics were based on bags that contained body fragments.

Ali Akbar Azizi, the deputy governor for political, security, and social affairs of Yazd province, also explained the reduction in the death toll: “Some of the victims’ bodies were completely shattered due to the force of impact. Teams present at the scene collected body fragments in 22 bags for identification purposes, but they were not identifiable.”

According to him, after transferring the bags to the province and forensic medical examinations and announcing the number of missing persons, the final number of deaths was determined to be 14, with 2 from Tabas and 12 from Yazd.

Source: DW