Train derailment kills 5, injures 87 in southeast Iran

TEHRAN, Iran – Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency is reporting that a train derailed in the country’s southeast, near the Pakistan border, killing five passengers and injuring at least 87 others.

Wednesday’s report says rescue workers transferred injured passengers to hospitals in Zahedan city, the provincial capital of Sistan and Baluchistan province.

The train was on a 1,500-kilometre (930-mile) journey from Zahedan to Tehran, the Iranian capital.

Official news agency IRNA put the death toll at three. There was no immediate elaboration on the discrepancy. IRNA said the incident happened when a wagon derailed because of sand on the rails in the Shuru area, some 60 kilometres (37 miles) southwest of Zahedan. The area is known for sudden sandstorms.

Occasional derailments happen in Iran but rarely lead to injuries or deaths.