At least 26 people were killed and more than 150 injured in northern India when nearly a dozen coaches of a passenger train were derailed, officials said today, raising safety concerns in a country where 30 million people use the railways daily.
The accident occurred in Uttar Pradesh state when the driver of the train applied emergency brakes, said AK Jain, additional director general of the railway police.
Mr Jain said he feared the death toll would go up, as injured passengers were being admitted in nearby hospitals.
On July 7, at least 31 people were killed when a train rammed into a bus driving over a level crossing which did not have a gate or an attendant, typical of several such crossings in India.
Latest government data showed that 336 people were killed and 437 injured between April 2010 and mid-January 2011.
State-run monopoly Indian Railways has a patchy safety record because of ageing infrastructure.
Agencies