Cargo train hits passenger train, leaving 15 dead, dozens injured in Bangladesh

A cargo train hit a passenger train outside the Bangladeshi capital on Monday, leaving at least 15 people dead and scores more injured, fire officials said.

Rescuers joined local residents in extracting passengers from the wreckage of the train cars, said fire official Mosharraf Hossain at Bhairab, in the central district of Kishoreganj, where the collision happened at 3:30 p.m.

He said the bodies of at least 15 people had been recovered and the number of casualties could increase.

“It’s a chaotic situation,” he said.

The crash occurred when two rear coaches of the Dhaka-bound Egarosindur Godhuli Express passenger train were hit by a cargo train heading to Chattogram, senior fire official Azizul Haque Rajon said from the scene by phone.

He said it was unclear how many people were still trapped in the wreckage.

Train service to other parts of the country remained suspended following the accident, he said.

It wasn’t immediately known what caused the crash. Train accidents are common in Bangladesh, blamed mainly on unsupervised railway crossings, poor signaling and bad track conditions.