At Least 17 Killed, Over 100 Injured After 2 Trains Collide In Bangladesh

A train collision in eastern Bangladesh claimed the lives of at least 17 people and injured over 100 other passengers.

Local reports say the driver of one of the trains may have caused the deadly accident by making a "reckless attempt to enter the station without waiting for the signal."

The collision took place Monday around 3:30 p.m. local time when a freight train smashed into a passenger train in Bhairab, about 50 miles northeast of the country's capital Dhaka, according to the police.

"Seventeen bodies have been recovered and many injured taken to hospital," said superintendent of Dhaka Railway Police Anowar Hossain, who also noted the death toll could increase.

The Dhaka-bound Egarosindhur Godhuli Express passenger train had departed the Bhairab railway station just minutes before the freight trained crashed into it.

A number of people were trapped in the wreckage, and over 50 people were sent to different hospitals, officials said.

"Initial reports suggest the freight train broke the signal, leading to the tragedy," Hossain said.

"Many people got trapped inside after the collision. When it happened, most of the people died then," Mohammad Masud, local fire service chief, was quoted telling reporters.

Bhairab Railway Station Master Md Yousuf told local news outlet the Business Standard that the collision could have been avoided if the freight train waited for a mere 30 seconds.

"The accident unfolded as a result of the container train driver's reckless attempt to enter the station without waiting for the signal," he said.

Yousuf explained that the freight train was instructed to wait until the passenger train had switched to another track. However, the freight train made a grave violation by attempting to enter the station without waiting for the clearance, he added.

The freight train crashed into the two rear coaches of the passenger train and instantly killed some of the passengers.

Eashfinul Haque Munim, a doctor who was aboard the passenger train when the collision took place, recalled the harrowing incident.

"Our train arrived 30 minutes late," Munim said about the Egarosindhur Godhuli Express train. "It had just started the journey and we hadn't even picked up speed. Suddenly, the train began to decelerate. It was like it was being tugged by a chain, being forced to halt."

Munim said he got off the train after the crash and saw people "mutilated" and trapped in the wreckage.

"It's like what happens to a paper when you tear it into a thousand pieces. That's what happened to the two coaches behind us when the freight train hit," he added.