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5 Die in Bangladesh Train Derailment

Other News Materials 13 October 2007 18:25 (UTC +04:00)

( Newsvine ) - Five rear carriages of an overcrowded express train jumped their tracks Saturday in southern Bangladesh, killing at least five passengers and injuring more than 100 others, a railway spokesman said.

The early morning Probhati Express was on its way to the capital, Dhaka, from the port city of Chittagong, 135 miles to the southeast. It was not immediately clear why the cars derailed.

The train was packed with about 1,000 people - with dozens forcing their way onto the carriage roofs - returning home on the eve of the three-day Eid al-Fitr holiday that marks the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Accidents including collisions or derailments are common on Bangladesh's aging railway system.

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