TEHRAN, Nov. 25 (UPI) — Dozens were killed and 100 more injured when two passenger trains collided in Iran on Friday, according to media reports.
The crash happened in the rural northern province of Semnan. Officials said the cause remains under investigation but it appeared temperatures that had plunged to below freezing, causing one of the passenger trains to stop on the tracks. The other train hit it, causing both to derail and several cars to become engulfed in fire.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ordered investigators to the scene to begin trying to piece together what happened.
The BBC reported the death toll at at least 35; Al Jazeera put the count at more than 40, with scores more unaccounted for. It was not immediately clear how many people were on one of the trains, making it difficult for officials to know how many are still missing.
Officials said rescue efforts were being hampered by the remote location of the crash, which took place about 150 miles from the capital Tehran. A local Red Cross official said only one rescue helicopter had been able to reach the scene in the immediate aftermath, though about 100 people were rescued from inside one of the trains.
