“17 Dead and 12 Critically Injured” in Train Accident in Tabas; Possibility of Increased Casualties
A Mashhad to Yazd passenger train derailed on Wednesday morning, June 8, at kilometer 85 on the Tabas to Yazd line following a collision. The accident has so far resulted in 17 deaths and dozens of injured and wounded.
Some passengers are “trapped” in train cars, and rescue forces are working to evacuate them.
The cause of the accident was initially reported as a collision with an excavator, but according to the special governor of Tabas, the train collided with a pile driver machine that was on the tracks, and “more investigations must be conducted to determine the exact cause of this accident.”
The public relations department of the Islamic Republic Railways stated: “Collision of this train with an excavator caused it to derail and resulted in this accident.”
On this matter, the railway passenger deputy said: “Based on initial information from the scene, at approximately 5:30 a.m. on Wednesday, when the Mashhad-Yazd passenger train passed through the Abbas Abad-Reizu block in the Tabas area, 5 passenger cars derailed due to collision with an excavator at the location of the incident.”
The official added: “According to our information, this excavator was beside the tracks with its arm colliding with the locomotive and passenger cars, causing 5 cars to derail.”
However, this railway official also emphasized that the exact cause of the accident is still unknown and investigations into the incident are ongoing.
According to ISNA, the train had 430 crew members and passengers.
According to Mehr News Agency, the accident has so far resulted in 17 deaths and 12 “critically injured” injured, but the CEO of the South Khorasan Red Crescent Society announced the number of injured as 40 people.
There is a possibility of an increase in the number of victims and injured in this accident, as Tasnim News Agency has announced the number of injured so far as 50 people, with 15 of them reported to be in critical condition.
The head of Yazd Province’s Emergency Organization also stated: “Seven ambulances, one ambulance bus, and one helicopter were dispatched to the scene of the Mashhad to Yazd train collision accident.”
Ali Akbar Rahimi, special governor of Tabas, provided more details about the derailment, saying: In this accident, four cars have overturned, and given that the cars are still overturned and must be placed back on the tracks using cranes, several cranes have been dispatched to the accident site from Tabas and Yazd, and given the severity of the accident, there is a possibility of increased death toll and injured count.
One of the passengers on this train told ISNA: “The train was moving when it suddenly applied severe brakes. This braking continued until the passengers lost their balance and collided with the surroundings like a ball. The car overturned and the window of the car we were in broke, and we were able to get ourselves out of the train through this window.”
Source: Radio Farda
