Train Collision Kills 150 In Bangladesh

A fast-moving passenger train rammed into a stationary train in northern Bangladesh on Friday. News reports said at least 150 people were killed.

The collision at Hili railroad station in the Dinajpur district, 170 miles north of Dhaka, occurred Friday night when the Simanta Express, bound for southwestern Khulna, collided with a local train, railway officials said.

Both trains were packed with passengers.

Rescuers recovered 30 bodies, railway officials said, and more were believed trapped in the wreckage. About 300 people were injured.

Officials released no death toll, but local newspapers put the figure at more than 150.

Mostafa Jamil, a spokesman for Bangladesh Railways, said the two engines and at least four coaches were badly damaged.

He said a relief train with medical supplies was heading to the site of the accident from a neighboring railroad station, and ambulances were at the scene.