At least 17 killed and 50 injured in Bangladesh after two trains collide

Oct. 24 (UPI) -- A collision between a freight train and an express passenger train in eastern Bangladesh killed at least 17 people and injured 50.

A container train headed toward Chattogram ran into the back of the Dhaka-bound Egarosindhur Express on Monday afternoon near Bhairab, 50 miles northeast of the capital, according to local police.

Human error with the track signaling was the most likely cause the BBC's Bengali language service quoted a railway official as saying.

Most of those killed were inside the rearmost three carriages which were overturned by the impact.

"Many people got trapped inside after the collision. Most of the people died on the spot," fire service chief Mohammad Masud told a press conference.

A major rescue operation was mounted with 14 fire service units dispatched to the scene, said Bangladesh Fire Service and Civil Defense media chief Shahjahan Sikder, while the government mobilized three Border Guard Brigade platoons to assist in the effort.

President Mohammed Shahabuddin and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said they were shocked and dismayed by the loss of life in the tragedy.

The Director General of state-run Bangladesh Railway, Quamrul Ahsan, said the agency had launched an investigation following on from its preliminary findings with the Dhaka Divisional Office forming a four-member committee to carry out its own investigation.

The driver of the freight train, assistant driver, and guard have all been suspended from duty.

Several people were injured in April not far from the scene of Monday's accident after a Dhaka-bound passenger train and a freight train collided in an incident that authorities said was also caused by one of the trains failing to heed a signal.