Over a dozen dead in Bangladesh train collision

A cargo train hit a passenger train outside the Bangladeshi capital, leaving at least 15 people dead and scores more injured, fire officials have said.

Rescuers joined local residents in extracting passengers from the wreckage of the train cars, said fire official Mosharraf Hossain on Monday at Bhairab, in the central district of Kishoreganj, where the accident occurred.

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

"Our people are working there. 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, Azizul Haque Rajon, a senior fire official, said from the scene by phone.

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

Train service to other parts of the country remained suspended following the accident, he said.

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