Deadly Tunisia train and lorry crash in El Fahes Published duration 16 June 2015

image copyright Getty Images image caption Train accidents are common in Tunisia, but this is the deadlies in recent times

At least 18 people have been killed and 98 others injured after a passenger train collided with a lorry in Tunisia, officials say.

It happened at El Fahes, about 60km (40 miles) south-west of the capital, Tunis, during the morning rush hour.

Eyewitnesses described seeing mangled wreckage at the scene and dead bodies across the tracks.

Thirty people are still being treated in hospital, others injured have been discharged, officials told the BBC.

Ambulances were sent from neighbouring areas to the crash site to transport the wounded.

'Driver questioned'

Some reports suggest the crossing had no barriers or signals but the ministry of transport says it was equipped with a junction and stop sign, reports the BBC's Rana Jawad from Tunis.

image copyright AP image caption The crash occurred at a railway crossing

image copyright EPA image caption A worker investigates an upturned carriage at the scene

Earlier a witness told the private Shems-FM radio station that people were trapped under a carriage that overturned, the AFP news agency reports.

The driver of the lorry who survived the accident is being questioned by police, a local official told the station.

Tunisia's public transport infrastructure is run-down and train accidents are common, but this is the deadliest crash in recent times, our correspondent says.

Related Topics Tunisia