Three Of Seven Train Carriage Slips: 10 Passengers Killed And 50 Injured

Illustration of a train in Iran. (Wikimedia Commons/Kableleger/David Gubler)

JAKARTA - Ten passengers were killed and 50 injured, some in critical condition, when a train traveling from Mashhad to Yazd, Iran derailed early Wednesday, state media said.

"So far, six Red Crescent relief teams have been dispatched to the scene. 16 people are seriously injured," a Red Crescent official said, citing The National News June 8.

The accident happened near Mazino Station at 5:30 a.m., state-controlled IRIB News reported.

"Two teams of Red Crescent aid workers have been dispatched to the crash site which is located within 50 km of the Tabas axis," IRIB said.

The incident is understood to have occurred about 50 kilometers to Tabas, about 550 kilometers southeast of the capital Tehran, on the rail linking the city to the central city of Yazd.

The train hit the excavator, reports said. State media said the accident was being investigated.

IRIB, citing the head of the Red Crescent Society for Rescue and Relief, said initial reports indicated three of the seven carriages derailed.

"Rescue efforts included three helicopters from Birjand, Mashhad and Yazd and 10 ambulances," said Mojtaba Khaledi, spokesman for the emergency agency.

It is known, Iran has about 14,000 kilometers of rail lines across the country, about two and a half times the size of Texas, United States, citing the Times of India. Its rail system transports people and goods across the country, particularly in rural areas

Iran also has about 17,000 annual road fatalities, one of the worst traffic safety records in the world. The high number of victims is blamed for widespread disregard for traffic laws, unsafe vehicles and inadequate emergency services.