JERUSALEM, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- Two people were slightly injured when a train ran out of tracks in southern Israel on Wednesday, according to rescuers and witnesses.

    Another 20 suffered from shock in the accident, which saw three cars of the train derailed at a railway junction near the southern town of Kiryat Gat, local news service Ynet quoted the Magen DavidAdom emergency service as saying.

    As investigation into the accident is underway, sources at Israel Railways was quoted as saying, adding that possible causes include an operating error, a technical problem or a flaw in the track itself.

    "Everything started shaking, until the train just fell off the tracks, and then things started to fall on us from above," one of the passengers told Ynet.

    Another passenger said that "from what I understand, it passed over a stone, and as a result the first car strayed and dragged the rest behind it."

    "Such an accident is rare and has not occurred in many years. It is difficult to tell what the cause was, but such an incident should not have taken place," Israel Railways Director-General Yitzhak Harel was quoted as saying.