EL FAHES, Tunisia, June 16 (UPI) -- A train in Tunisia derailed after crashing into a semi-truck blocking the tracks in front of it, killing more than a dozen people and injuring nearly 100, officials say.
The crash occurred during morning rush hour in El Fahes, 40 miles southwest of Tunis. At least 18 people are dead and 98 injured. Officials told the BBC that 30 people were still being treated in hospitals, while the rest have been discharged.
"The death toll could rise," Al Jazeera quoted Transport Minister Mahmoud Ben Romdhane as saying early Monday.
Witnesses describe seeing dead bodies and twisted wreckage at the scene. Most of the dead were passengers of the train. Initial reports suggested both the train driver and the truck driver were killed, but the BBC quoted media sources saying the truck driver had survived and was being questioned by police.
Train accidents are common in Tunisia due to long-term degradation of the country's infrastructure.
Tunisia's ministry of transport said the crossing where the crash took place was equipped with a junction and stop sign, despite earlier reports that the crossing lacked barriers and signals.
In a similar incident in the United States earlier this month, an Amtrak train en route to Chicago with more than 200 people aboard plowed into a semi-truck carrying bacon. No one was seriously injured in the crash.
In May, an Amtrak train derailed after traveling on a curve at high speed near Philadelphia, killing seven people.
