Bangladesh train crash kills eight

The crash has been blamed on train crew error

Eight people have been killed and 30 others injured in a train collision in the east of Bangladesh.

Primary investigations suggest that the accident occurred as the train... approached the station, ignoring a signal

Mostafa-e-Jamil
Railway spokesman

The accident happened in the early hours of Sunday at Azampur railway station, in the district of Brahmanbaria, close to the border with the Indian state of Tripura.

A train heading from the northern city of Sylhet towards the port of Chittagong in the south collided with a stationary train.

"Primary investigations suggest that the accident occurred as the train carrying about 600 passengers approached the station, ignoring a signal," Mostafa-e-Jamil, a spokesman for the Bangladesh railway.

Bangladeshi Communications Minister Nazmul Hudda said that human error was the most likely cause of the accident and that the drivers and guards of the Chittagong-bound train had been suspended on suspicion of missing a signal.

Doctors in the nearby town of Akhoura say that at least five of the injured are in a critical condition.

"We will try to send some patients to Dhaka as they need specialised treatment and surgery," said one doctor.

Sudden jolt

Passengers say there was a sudden jolt and numerous carriages were immediately derailed. They say the emergency services' work was hampered by the chaos and confusion that followed the accident.

It is reported that most of the passengers on both trains have now been accounted for. Within hours of the accident relief trains arrived to begin the rescue operation.

Officials say that given the severity of the collision and the number of passengers on both trains, the casualty figures so far appear low.

The government has announced an inquiry into the accident on one of the country's most important rail routes, between the second and third cities of Bangladesh.

This was the second train accident in Bangladesh in last 17 days.

At least 80 people were injured when a Dhaka bound train from northern Jamalpur 200 km (125 miles) north of the capital on 10 October.