The Death Toll from the Train Collision in Semnan Reaches 36

As the death toll from the collision of two passenger trains in Semnan province reached 36, a member of parliament attributed the cause of the incident to a "misguided order" from the manager of one of the train stations. According to Iranian media, two passenger trains collided on Friday, December 5, on the Semnan-Damghan route at the "Haftkhan" station, resulting in a fire in several carriages and leading to 36 deaths and 80 injuries so far. Pirhossein Kolivand, head of Iran's Emergency Center, announced that the bodies of the 36 deceased are "completely burned, making identification very difficult." Kolivand also reported that the number of injured is 80, stating, "Searches inside the burned carriages are still ongoing." Meanwhile, Mohammad Reza Khabaz, the governor of Semnan, reported that the number of injured is 96 and the death toll is 31. According to Khabaz, the collision between the Mashhad-Semnan train and the Tabriz-Mashhad train, which had stopped on the tracks due to a "technical fault," led to this incident. He mentioned, "The reason for the stoppage of the Tabriz-Mashhad train is still unclear, whether the cold weather caused freezing or if another technical issue caused this train to stop." In addition, Gholamreza Kateb, a member of the Semnan provincial assembly, also attributed the cause of the incident to a "misguided order" for the train's movement given by the manager of a train station. Kateb stated, "The manager of the Semnan train station caused the collision of the two passenger trains by giving an inappropriate order to move a train that was stopped at the station." This member of parliament added, "It should also be clarified whether this incident was intentional or accidental." Following this incident, the Tehran-Mashhad railway line has been closed, and Abbas Akhoundi, the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, has canceled his trip to Turkmenistan and is expected to visit the accident site. In August 2014, three carriages of the Mashhad-Tehran passenger train derailed near the city of Shahroud in Semnan province, but no one was injured in that incident. On October 26, less than a month ago, the Mashhad-Shushtar passenger train was involved in an accident that resulted in several injuries. In late June 2014, the Tehran-Mashhad passenger train collided with a freight train near Damghan, resulting in one fatality. In related news, a collision of two passenger trains in Italy left at least 22 dead, and at least 20 people were killed in a train accident in Pakistan. At least "five dead and 14 injured" resulted from the collision of two trains in Semnan.