World: South Asia Hundreds killed in India train crash

At least 250 people have been killed and more than 1,000 injured in a train crash in eastern India.

Reports say the collision happened when an express train bound for Delhi hit another train head-on at Gaisal station, in the state of West Bengal.

Explosions were heard and initially a bomb attack was suspected, but it now appears both trains ended up on the same line after a signal failure.

Rescue teams have so far removed 180 bodies from the wrecked trains, but more bodies have been counted inside the carriages.

500 feared dead

The rescuers have been unable to get to two carriages at the bottom of the heap of wreckage, and fear that the death toll could eventually exceed 500.

Soldiers with gas-powered cutting equipment are trying to open the two carriages.

The collision occurred at 0130 local time (2000 GMT), as the Brahmputra Mail train from Gauhati passed through the station where the Awadh-Assam Express was stationary.

The engine of the express was blasted into the air by the impact of the explosion.

Fourteen carriages and the engines of both trains were completely smashed.

BBC Correspondent Subir Bhaumik says medical facilities in this remote part of India are not sufficient to cope with a disaster on this scale.

The passengers on the Brahmaputra Mail were mostly army and paramilitary personnel, the Press Trust of India reported.

It is believed that explosives carried by some of the soldiers caught alight after the crash, giving rise to speculation about a bomb attack.

Call for better safety

Indian President KR Narayanan said the crash highlighted "the crying need to improve the safety measures of the railways for the benefit of the travelling public."

The president said he was "shocked and grieved" at the loss of life in the accident.

Our correspondent says this is easily one of India's worst railway accidents and certainly the most serious in the east of the country.

If the rescuers' fears are confirmed, then the toll from this accident would exceed that of the worst train disaster of recent years, when about 300 people died after two express trains collided near Agra in 1995.

Most rail crashes have been blamed on human error or outdated signalling equipment.

Rail travel in India is low cost and very popular, but also notoriously over-crowded.

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