The incident of derailment of a passenger train on the Tabas-Yazd railroad track has left 10 passengers dead so far, an Iranian official said.
Governor of Tabas Ali-Akbar Rahimi told IRNA on Wednesday that four cars of the train derailed early in the morning, so relief workers, including the Red Crescent Society, emergency and aid units have been dispatched to the location of the incident.
According to a report by the Emergency Organization, some 12 injured people were hospitalized, but the number of hospitalizations may increase due to the severity of the incident, Rahimi noted.
The governor went on to say that relief workers are still searching all wagons to find potential injured or dead.
12 ambulances have been dispatched to the location, he said, adding that a helicopter from Yazd and a train from Tabas have been sent to carry injured passengers to Tabas and Yazd.
Director of the South Khorasan Red Crescent Society Mohammad-Reza Rezaei said that the passenger train derailed near Mazino Station at 5:30 local time.
Rezaei noted that 6 rescue teams from the Red Crescent Society have been dispatched to the location so far.
The public relations office of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways issued a statement declaring that the passenger train collided with an excavator and went off track.
Tabas is located 270 kilometers west of the city of Birjand in South Khorasan Province, western Iran.
