At least 17 dead after passenger train derails in Iran

• A train partially derailed in Iran on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people.
• 50 more people were injured, authorities said, per the Associated Press.

At least 17 people died and 50 more were injured after a train partially derailed in central Iran on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported, citing Iranian authorities and media.

The derailment happened around 30 miles outside of the city of Tabas, the AP reported.

Iranian state media reported that the governor of Tabas, Ali Akbar Rahimi, said the death toll may increase as rescuers search through the train cars, the AP reported.

Iranian news agency IRNA reported the governor as saying four of the train cars derailed. The AP reported that there were seven train cars in total.

Iran's official railway agency said the train collided with an excavator, IRNA reported.

The AP noted that it was not immediately clear why an excavator would be so close to the railway track, but that one official said it might have been there for a repairment project.

State TV interviewed people who were taken from the train to the hospital, including one who said that "passengers were bouncing in the car like balls in the air," the AP reported.