Trains collide in central Bangladesh, killing at least 15 and injuring scores of others

DHAKA, Bangladesh — A cargo train hit a passenger train outside the Bangladeshi capital Monday in a crash that killed 15 people and injured scores, fire officials said.

Rescuers joined residents in extracting passengers from the wreckage of the train cars, said fire official Mosharraf Hossain at Bhairab, in the central district of Kishoreganj, where the collision happened at 3:30 p.m.

He said the bodies of at least 15 people had been recovered and the number of casualties could increase.

“It's a chaotic situation,” he told The Associated Press.

The crash occurred when two rear coaches of the Dhaka-bound Egarosindur Godhuli Express passenger train were hit by a cargo train heading to Chattogram, senior fire official Azizul Haque Rajon said from the scene by phone.

He said it was unclear how many people were trapped in the wreckage.

Train service to other parts of the country was suspended following the crash, he said.

It wasn't immediately known what caused the crash. Train accidents are common in Bangladesh, blamed mainly on unsupervised railway crossings, poor signaling and bad track conditions.