Tasnim � Iran�s Minister of Road and Urban Development Abbas Akhoundi offered his apologies to the people of the country for a recent train crash that killed at least 45 people in the province of Semnan.





In a message to the bereaved families of victims of the train crash on Monday, Akhoundi expressed deep condolences to all the people and said after receiving news of the incident, he made every effort and used everything in his power to assist those injured in the crash.

�Since the incident occurred in a field under my management, I apologize to the bereaved families, the injured and all of the dear Azeris (people of provinces of West and East Azerbaijan),� he said.

It came after Managing Director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Railways Mohsen Pourseyyed Aqaei resigned following the deadly train crash.

In the meantime, Iranian lawmakers are working on a plan to impeach Akhoundi for what they call his weak performance that led to the terrible incident.

In a message on Saturday, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei voiced deep sorrow over the incident, blaming it on the negligence and imprudence of those involved.

At least 45 people died and dozens of others were wounded in the crash, which occurred at around 8 a.m. Friday in a mountainous area near Haft-Khan station, on the railroad linking the cities of Semnan and Damghan.

A passenger train travelling between capital Tehran and the northeastern holy city of Mashhad was stopping near the station when another train hit it from behind, setting a number of cars ablaze.