TEHRAN (Irna)
More than 200 are reported
killed in Neyshaboor-Nishapur (near Mashad) train explosion
A
train carrying fuel and industrial chemicals exploded in
northeastern Iran, killing more than 200 people and injuring
hundreds more, according to the official Islamic Republic News
Agency.
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Fifty-one
runaway train wagons, set loose by earth tremors, were filled with
petrol, fertiliser and sulphur products.
They exploded 20 km (13 miles) from the city of
Nishapur on Wednesday, shattering windows within a radius of more
than 10 km.
"The number of those killed in this disaster is
now more than 200," the agency quoted Vahid Barkchi, an emergency
official in the northeastern province of Khorasan as saying.
"The emergency team is transferring more than
350 injured to hospitals nearby," he added.
He warned that the final assessment of damage
was likely to be far higher than these initial estimates.
IRNA said five villages were seriously damaged
because of the explosion.
More than 40,000 people died in an earthquake on
December 26 in the ancient citadel city of Bam in southeastern
Iraq. |
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