The head of the Crisis Management Office at Sistan-Baluchestan province said on Thursday that four men and one woman died in the train crash.
Abdorrahman Shahnavaz told IRNA that the accident happened at 16:20 on Wednesday 100 kilometers from Zahedan, the provincial capital.
He added that the train had 250 passengers on board, 157 of whom were injured and five were pronounced dead.
The head of Zahedan University of Medical Sciences Mohammad Hashemi-Shahri said that 110 of the injured people were discharged from the hospital.
Public Relations Managing Director of Governor General's Office of the province Javad Salarzehi told IRNA that the accident occurred when one train car derailed and fell on its side because the railways were covered by windblown sand.
The train was passing through the Shuru region in the Kurin district in the southeastern province. Railways in the area are prone to windblown sand and frequently cause problems for trains.
The train was heading to the capital Tehran from Zahedan.
Iran's minister of Health said in a tweet that the he had designated a team of the ministry's deputies and officials of Iran University of Medical Sciences to manage the relief operation.
He also expressed his condolences over the death of the five passengers.
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