Train Crash In Eastern Iran Kills At Least 17

A train derailed in Iran leaving at least 17 dead and dozens injured. The train, which was carrying 348 passengers, came off the line between the cities of Mashhad and Yazd about 50km (31 miles) from Tabas.

Emergency service officials said the train collided with an excavator before being

knocked off the track.

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It was stated that the death toll could rise because many of the injured were in a critical conditions in hospital.

An investigation has been launched to establish how the train came to strike the excavator and they suggested that the excavator might have been part of a repair project.

Iran saw its deadliest train disaster in 2004, when a train loaded with petrol, fertilizer and cotton crashed near the north-eastern city of Neyshabur, killing almost 320 people.

And in 2016, 49 people were killed when a train had broken down and was hit by another train in the northern province of Semnan.