DHAKA, Jan. 9 -- Rescue workers Tuesday discovered at least 16 people were killed and more than 100 injured in the head-on collision of two trains near Chandpur, about 110 kilometers east of Dhaka. At least one unnamed railway official said train travel along the Chandpur to Laksham line had been risky since Sunday when some cables were stolen, making communications difficult.
The bodies were recovered from four carriages of the trains that derailed after the Monday night crash. Officials believed they may find more bodies as rescue workers, assisted by Army troops, scoured the wreckage. 'We fear there may be more bodies stuck inside the twisted-up carriages,' said a railway official in Dhaka. The collision occurred on an open stretch of track with clear visibility for several miles. An investigation by a three-member committee was underway to determine who was at fault. A local train from the port city of Chittagong was on its way to Chandpur when the Sagarika Express heading southeast for Chittagong appeared on the same track, officials said. The collision caused the derailment of both locomotives and four carriages, officials said. Press reports Tuesday suggested the accident may have been caused by a breakdown of telecommunication between stations along the Laksham line that runs from Chandpur to Laksham further south. 'Some necessary cables were stolen Sunday last, hampering railway telecom and making operation of trains on that line risky,' an unnamed official told the daily Bangla Bazar Patrika.
