A Tunisian passenger train collided with a semitrailer truck attempting to cross the railroad tracks early Tuesday morning, leaving 18 people dead and about 100 wounded, reported BBC News.
The speeding train struck the trailer at 6:30 a.m., just outside the city of Fahs, located 37 miles (60 kilometers) southwest of the capital, Tunis, according to authorities.
Initially, media outlets reported that the truck driver was among the deceased, however, Lt. Col. Selmi Yousfi said the driver fled as soon as he saw the train barreling towards him at approximately 80 miles per hour (130 kilometers per hour) and later surrendered, according to the Associated Press.
The impact of the collision ejected some of the passengers from the carriage, said Mongi Kadhi, an official with emergency services. The train engineer was among those who perished. Although the railway crossing had a warning sign, it did not have the required guardrails, lighting or barricades.
"Accidents like this one happen at crossings, and it's usually due to the lack of attention by the cars and trucks because the train has to follow the rails," said Yousfi.
However, Habib Jouini, a train engineer who was not involved in the incident, blamed the security of the railway for the crash. "We have these level crossings, but they're not secured, there is no guard," he said.
Witnesses described the accident scene as mangled wreckage, with dead bodies scattered across the railway tracks. "This is horrible, there is blood and bits of flesh everywhere," said one of the witnesses. "There are people still trapped under the carriage, which overturned."
The injured were taken to hospitals in El Fahes and Zaghouan for treatment, according to Al-Jazeera.
