Australian train derails

A high-speed passenger train derailed yesterday on Australia's tropical north coast, sending carriages and passengers flying through the air and injuring 128 people, five of them seriously. Seven of the nine "Tilt Train" carriages came off the tracks...

A high-speed passenger train derailed yesterday on Australia's tropical north coast, sending carriages and passengers flying through the air and injuring 128 people, five of them seriously.

Seven of the nine "Tilt Train" carriages came off the tracks and overturned just after midnight local time (1300 GMT) near the coastal city of Bundaberg, police said.

All 156 passengers and seven crew were freed from the wreckage after a four-hour rescue operation.

The train was travelling from Brisbane to Cairns, a tourist city and gateway to Australia's Great Barrier Reef. The cause of the crash was not yet known.

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