Train-truck collision in Tunisia kills 18, 98 hurt
Print Edition
AT least 18 people were killed and 98 injured when a passenger train hit a lorry south of the Tunisian capital Tunis yesterday, the transport and interior ministries said.
Most of the dead were passengers on the train, which derailed, the transport ministry said.
“The toll is currently 18 dead and around 98 injured,” Mongi Khadhi, a spokesman for the emergency services, said.
An initial report had put the number killed at 14.
The interior ministry said the train was heading into the capital from the town of Gaafour, 120 kilometers to the southwest, in the morning rush hour.
The collision happened near Fahs, some 60km from Tunis, at around 6:30am. Witnesses spoke of mangled wreckage at the scene and dead bodies strewn across the tracks.
“This is horrible, there is blood and bits of flesh everywhere,” one witness told Shems-FM radio. “There are people still trapped under the carriage, which overturned.”
Transport Minister Mahmoud Ben Romdhane said that the drivers of the train and the truck were both speeding at the time of the collision.
“The death toll could rise,” Ben Romdhane told Mosaique FM radio.
The lorry driver, originally reported to have been killed, survived the collision and was being questioned by police, a local official told the station.
Another witness told Shems-FM that there was no barrier at the crossing where the accident occurred.
“There have been accidents here before,” he added. “We must put up a barrier quickly.”
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
