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Express trains collide in Bangladesh, killing at least 15

Nov 11, 2019 | 11:44 PM

DHAKA, Bangladesh — Two speeding trains collided in eastern Bangladesh, killing at least 15 people and injuring scores on Tuesday, officials said.

Local police chief Shayamal Kanti Das said the collision took place early Tuesday when Udayan Express and Turna Nishita trains approached on the same track from opposite directions in Brahmanbaria district. The area is 82 kilometres (51 miles) east of the capital, Dhaka.

Das said authorities were trying to ascertain how many were injured.

Local government administrator Hayat Ud Dowlah Khan said at least 40 injured were being treated in hospitals, but the United News of Bangladesh agency said the number of the injured would be more than 100.

Delwar Hossain, a railway official in the area, said two of the coaches were badly damaged.

TV footage showed fire service rescuers were pulling bodies from the twisted coaches and using body bags to send the bodies to hospital morgues.

Train accidents are frequent in Bangladesh, many of them at unsupervised railway crossings, poor signalling and for bad condition of the tracks.

The Associated Press