Press TV- Over 40people have lost their lives and dozens morehave beeninjured after two passenger trains collided at a station in Irans north-central province of Semnan.
According to local officials, the collisionhappened at the Haf-Khan station nearthe city of Shahroud around 7:40 a.m. local time on Friday.
Head of the Emergency Medical Service, Pir Hossein Kolivand, told the Tasnim news agency that 44 people were killed and 82 others injured in the collision, raising the death toll from an earlier estimate of 31 announced by Semnan Governor Mohammad-Reza Khabbaz.
Seven rescue teams weredispatched to the site with helicopters and ambulances.A huge fire also broke out following the accident, furtherslowingdown relief operations in subzero temperatures.
Officials said an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the accident.
The accident happened when a passenger train that was in motion hit another that had stopped at thestation about 250 kilometers east of the capital, Tehran. The collision caused four carriages to derailand catch fire.