Seven people died after an express passenger train and a cargo train collided on Monday in West Bengal, India, causing three passenger carriages to derail.
Pictures on Indian TV showed wrecked carriages, some flipped on their side and one precariously balanced on another. Rescuers searched through the wreckage for more possible victims.
Police confirmed seven deaths and 39 injured passengers were taken to a local hospital. This crash is another incident in India’s busy rail network, which transports millions daily.
“We have confirmation of seven deaths and 39 passengers admitted at a local hospital with various injuries,” local police officer Iftikar-Ul-Hassan said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences and said rescue operations were ongoing.
West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee described the crash as tragic and mentioned that doctors, ambulances, and disaster teams were at the site to help.
The crash occurred in the Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district when the Kanchenjunga Express train was hit by a goods train.
Railway Protection Force officer Rajesh Kumar Singh reported finding the bodies of a driver and a guard, with more possibly trapped under the wreckage.
India has a history of rail disasters, including a 1981 derailment that killed around 800 people and a three-train collision last year in Odisha that killed nearly 300.
Recently, India has invested heavily in modernising its rail system, including building the world’s highest railway bridge over the Chenab River in the Himalayan region.
This bridge connects northern Jammu and Kashmir to the rest of India and is set to open soon after nearly three decades of construction.