At least 15 people were killed and several injured after two trains collided in eastern Bangladesh in the early hours of Tuesday, according to police.
Three coaches were sent tumbling off the tracks at Mondolbhag station in the town of Kasba when a Dhaka-bound intercity train and a locomotive bound for Chittagong collided.
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Deputy Commissioner Hayat-ud-Daula Khan said, “Nine people died on the spot, while six others died in different hospitals”.
The accident snapped Dhaka’s rail links with Chattogram and Sylhet.
The district’s police chief Mohammad Anisur Rahman said that the toll was likely to rise as several of the 28 injured persons were in critical condition.
A rescue operation was still underway, Rahman added.
The cause of the accident is being investigated.
In June this year, a train plunged into a canal when the bridge it was travelling across gave way, that left four people dead and wounded more than a hundred in Bangladesh.
Train accidents are common in Bangladesh and are often caused by poor signalling or other rundown infrastructure.
