Crash near Nishapur

On the night of February 17-18, for reasons unclear to the end, a train consisting of 51 cars rolled out from Abu Muslim station in Nishapur. After driving downhill for 20 kilometers, at 4 am local time, the cars went off the rails near the village of Khayyam (named after Omar Khayyam ) and caught fire. Soon, rescue teams arrived at the crash site and began to liquidate the fire. Meanwhile, 17 cars were loaded with sulfur , 6 with gasoline , 7 with nitrate fertilizers, and 10 with cotton. In general, 3 of the 4 listed cargoes are part of various explosives . However, according to the Iranian classification, these cargoes were classified as non-hazardous.

Soon, a large number of curious people gathered at the scene of the accident. Also at the scene were political officials from Nishapur (parliamentary elections were due to take place the next day ) and road officials. By morning, firefighters managed to significantly reduce the flame when, at 9:35, unexpectedly for all, the wagon load detonated due to the released gases, which caused an explosion with an estimated capacity of about 180 tons of TNT . A funnel about 15 meters deep formed on the site of the cars, and the village of Khayyam was destroyed. Significant destruction was in neighboring Eishabad, Dehnou, Hashemabad and Nishapur. Within a radius of 10 kilometers all window panes were knocked out, and the explosion itself was heard even in Mashhad , which was 75 kilometers away. Many decided that an earthquake had begun, and seismologists recorded tremors of 3.6 points.

The explosion killed several hundred people, including a large number of firefighters and officials. Among the dead were the heads of Khorasan and Nishapur, the head of the fire department, IRNA reporter. The liquidation of the consequences of the explosion took several days, and to guard the destroyed villages from marauders, the guards of the Islamic Revolution had to be involved. The catastrophe near Nishapur caused damage of tens of billions (according to final estimates - 300 billion) of rials, which caused a serious economic blow to the country, which has not fully recovered after the earthquake in Bama that happened a month and a half before ( December 26, 2003 ). In memory of the dead, a three-day mourning was declared. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan sent his condolences to the Iranian people.

According to local media, the explosion officially killed 287 people, including about 150 officials and firefighters. Later, state authorities reported 295 dead, including 182 firefighters and officials, and 460 wounded. However, according to many journalists, these figures are underestimated, and the death toll is much higher than 300.

One of the main causes of the disaster was the improper transportation of explosive goods, so soon a new classification of goods was introduced on Iranian rail transport. Serious questions were also caused by the departure of the train from the station, because the exact reasons for this were not fully clarified. Initially, a version was put forward of small tremors that caused the movement of the train. However, the country's Minister of Transport rejected this information and stated that he had a case of gross error or malicious intent of one of the workers, about which an investigation is already underway. In June 2007, railroad workers found guilty of leaving the station were found and convicted.

• Wreck of a freight train in Iran: the governor of Khorasan, the mayor of Nishapur and more than 200 people died . Center Asia (15:09 02/18/2004). Date of treatment October 25, 2012. Archived December 18, 2012.
• Deputy Governor of Khorasan: The explosion in Nishapur killed 289 people. (Russian) . IRAN News (02.24.04 10:33). Date of treatment October 25, 2012. Archived December 18, 2012.
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