After a passenger train derailed in eastern Iran, at least 17 people were killed and many others injured, authorities said early on Wednesday.
Governor Ali-Akbar Rahimi said, cited by semi-official news agencies, that four of the seven cars in the train derailed on the Tabas-Yazd railroad track near Iran’s eastern city of Tabas and all rescue units with ambulances and helicopters were deployed to the scene.
Rahimi added that 17 people on the train carrying 420 passengers lost their lives, while 30 were injured, with five of them in critical condition, according to initial reports.
According to the state news agency, the numbers could increase due to the severity of the accident, he said earlier.
A local official said the train heading to the central city of Yazd derailed some 50 kilometers outside of Tabas at 5.30 a.m. local time (01:00 GMT).
