RSOE EDIS - Situation Update No. 1 : Iran - Vehicle Accident

RSOE Emergency and Disaster Information Service Budapest, Hungary RSOE EDIS ALERTMAIL

Situation Update No. 1 Posted:2010-01-23, 10:00:12 [UTC] Ref.no.: VI-20100123-24672-IRN Situation Update No. 1 On 2010-01-23 at 13:03:49 [UTC] Event: Vehicle Accident Location: Iran Ostan-e Khorasan-e Razavi Joghatay Number of Deads: 8 person(s) Number of Injured: 12 person(s) Situation: A train accident in northeastern Iran killed at least eight people this morning and injured dozens, underscoring problems in Iran's transportation sector. Four wagons of a five-car passenger train traveling between the capital, Tehran, and the eastern city of Mashhad derailed near the town of Joghatay, 420 miles from the capital, shortly before 10:30 a.m. local time, Iranian news outlets reported. A medical helicopter and 12 ambulances have been dispatched to the scene, and several of those injured remain in grave condition, Iranian news sources reported. Gholam-Reza Masoumi, head of State Emergency Center, told the semi-official Iranian Labor News Agency, ILNA, that the death toll from the train accident is likely to rise "in view of the critical conditions of some casualties and the type of incident." News agencies said the four cars flipped over near a train station. A photograph posted to the website of Iran's semi-official Fars news agency showed rescue workers climbing an overturned rail car on a field. Officials cited by Iranian news agencies variously attributed the accident to a switch failure, the breaking of a pin, an obstacle on the tracks or the train traveling at too high a speed. But an official described as the deputy director of the state-owned rail company told ILNA no conclusions had yet been drawn. Iran's railway network connects its northwestern border with Turkey to its northeastern border with Turkmenistan, and its northern Caspian Sea to southern ports along the Persian Gulf. An Iranian company recently signed a deal to build a 200-mile rail line that would connect Iran's rail network to those of Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, according to Fars. But experts say Iran's transportation sector, especially civil aviation, has deteriorated over the last 30 years because of international sanctions, mismanagement and lack of investment. Please DO NOT reply to this message: replies may be treated as errors and result in your subscription being deleted. If you have trouble or other queries, send email to havaria@rsoe.hu RSOE EDIS is operated by the National Association of Radio-Distress Signalling and Infocommunications (RSOE), Budapest, Hungary. Because of the complexity of this system and its dependence on other systems, we cannot be responsible for delays or failures in forwarding or transmission. You're receiving this AlertMail because you subscribed for the service. To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. Contact: havaria@rsoe.hu