At least eight people killed after train derails in Iran

In Iran, at least eight people were killed and dozens other injured after four train carriages derailed between the towns of Mashhad and Yazd yesterday morning. A Railway spokesman told that eight people were killed, however some media reports put the death toll at 10. There are fears that the number of casualties could rise.

The derailment took place around 50 kilometers to the desert city of Tabas, on the rail that connects the town with the central city of



Yazd.

Local media reported that four of the seven cars in the train derailed in the early morning darkness. Ambulances and three helicopters with rescue teams were arriving at the accident site.

The exact cause of the accident was not immediately known. Meanwhile, local media reports that the train crashed into an excavator.

Iran has railway lines spanning almost 14,000 kilometers throughout the country.