Dec 10, 2007 (DVB), Three people were reportedly killed and over 80 injured when a train was derailed on 3 December, according to local residents, though government officials dispute these figures.

Train number 142, which was running from Nyaung Shwe township in Shan state to Thar Si in Mandalay division, came off the track and overturned near the Yay Pu township railway station near the border of Shan state and Mandalay division.

A local resident who witnessed the accident said that the most of the train passengers were villagers.

"The train came off the track and all three carriages flipped over, killing three people right on the spot," he said.

"It happened around 5pm on Monday near Kout Kwe village near Yay Pu railway station."

The local resident said that one of those killed was a woman from Yinmarpin township, near Thar Si.

However, a government official from Thar Si railway station has disputed this version of events, claiming that 28 were injured and no one was killed.

"Senior divisional railway officials have taken charge of the incident and rescue efforts at the crash site and we have only 28 people listed as injured," the official said.

"We've got all their names and addresses and some of them have already been treated and left the hospital."

The official said that only one train carriage, with a maximum capacity of 62 people, had flipped over, while the other two carriages had come off the rails but remained upright.

"The railway authorities are taking this incident very seriously and carrying out rescue efforts," he said, but added that there had been no fatalities.

An official from Thar Si hospital also said that casualties were limited.

"All the people who have been submitted to our hospital seem fine. No one was killed in the incident," the hospital official said.

"Five people with serious injuries have been transferred to Mandalay and Meikhtila hospitals for emergency treatments."

Reporting by Nan Kham Kaew