06:52 AM
At least 15 people died on Monday in a collision between a passenger train and a freight train in the Indian state of West Bengal, police reported. Police reported that first responders are still searching for victims under cars.
““We have confirmation of seven deaths and 39 passengers hospitalized with injuries of varying degrees.”Iftikar Ul Hasan, a representative of the local police in this eastern state, told AFP. India.
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The accident is the latest to hit India’s aging network, which carries millions of passengers every day.
Kumar Singha member of the Railway Protection Force indicated that the rescuers saw the body of the driver and a guard, and managed to get them out.
“It is possible that there are more bodies at the accident site, but we do not know for sure yet”he claimed.
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Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences to “those who lost their loved ones”, in a post on social media in which he added that the rescue operation continues.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the accident a “tragedy” in a statement posted on social media.
“Doctors, ambulances and relief teams were sent to the spot for rescue, recovery and medical care,” Banerjee said.
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Banerjee said that the accident occurred in Darjeeling district when the Kanchenjunga express train collided with a freight train.
India has one of the most extensive railway networks in the world and has suffered numerous fatal accidents, the most serious of which occurred in 1981 when a train derailed on a bridge in the state of Bihar, killing 800 people.
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In June 2023, nearly 300 people were killed in a train collision in the eastern state of Odisha.
In recent years, India has begun a campaign to improve its rail network and has invested millions of dollars to modernize stations and signaling systems.
