Death toll from Iranian train derailment rises to over 300

Teheran (dpa) - Over 300 people have now died following Wednesday's train derailment in Iran, the news agency IRNA reported Thursday.
The accident resulted in a series of fires and a gas explosion which destroyed nearby villages.

Head of the local Red Crescent, Ali Huesseini, told IRNA that 309 bodies had so far been identified, but more could be under the debris.

Husseini said that temporary accommodation has been prepared for the victims of the two nearby villages of Deh-Yukeh and Hashem-Abad, damaged by the explosions.

He could give no details on the cause of the incident and said that a final report would be presented at the end of the investigation.

Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has ordered an investigation into how 51 wagons of the freight train, which was transporting chemicals, derailed.

The investigation is likely to focus on human error as a moderate earthquake, which had initially been blamed, occurred after the explosion.

The investigation is also expected to find out how the freight train moved from the Abu Moslem to Khayam station in the early hours of Wednesday.

About 200 relief workers were at the scene Thursday removing bodies from under the debris.

About 450 people were injured in the accident and more than half of them are receiving hospital treatment in the nearby city of Nayshabur.

The severely injured have been transferred to Mashad, the capital of the Khorassan province.

Local officials said there may have been fewer deaths had the villagers of Deh-Yukeh not come to watch the initial fire.

dpa rds sr