Iran Train Accident Injures 47, Kills 21

At least 21 people were killed and 47 seriously injured when a passenger train derailed near half of its cars before dawn Wednesday in eastern Iran.

As Tehran struggles under US sanctions and has yet to return to the nuclear deal with world powers, the derailment near Tabas was the latest tragedy to strike the Islamic Republic in recent weeks.

As it travelled 550 kilometers (340 miles) southeast of Tehran to Yazd, the train operated by the Islamic Republic Railway carried around 350 passengers. Train cars and passengers were sent flying after the excavator hit an underpass under a railroad in the scrubland.

One unnamed injured passenger told Iranian state television that people bounced in the car like balls. IRNA cited emergency officials for the fatality figures.

Helicopters and ambulances transported the injured to a remote area where communications are poor. According to local officials, over a dozen people were critically injured, some of them transferred to local hospitals.

During aerial footage of the disaster site in the desert, rescuers were seen rushing to rescue those injured after train cars fell on their sides.

The injured were later treated at a hospital whose images were shown on state TV. According to one of those injured in the train derailment, the train abruptly braked and then slowed down.

About 50 kilometers (30 miles) outside Tabas is where the derailment occurred.

The crash is being investigated, according to the report. Early reports indicated the train collided with an excavator near the track, although the reason for the excavator being so close to the track at night was not clear. According to one official, it was possibly involved in a repair project.

Ebrahim Raisi, president of Iran, expressed condolences over the crash and announced that an investigation would be conducted to determine its cause.

320 people were killed in 2004, when a runaway train carrying gasoline, fertilizer, sulfur and cotton crashed near Neyshabur, causing serious injuries and damage to five villages. At least 43 people were killed and 100 injured when a train collided in northern Iran in 2016.

Throughout a country about twice the size of Texas, Iran has some 14,000 kilometers of railways. Particularly in rural areas, the rail system transports both people and goods.

In addition, Iran has one of the world's worst traffic safety records, with about 17,000 deaths annually on its highways. Traffic laws are often ignored, vehicles are unsafe, and emergency services are inadequate, leading to the high death toll.

Rescuers work at the scene where a passenger train partially derailed near the desert city of Tabas in eastern Iran, Wednesday, June 8, 2022, according to this photo provided by the Iranian Red Crescent Society.

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