A passenger train crashed into a cargo train in central India on Tuesday, killing at least five people and injuring several others, a senior government official said.
The incident happened near Bilaspur, about 116 kilometers (72 miles) from Chhattisgarh’s state capital, Raipur.
Television channels showed images of one train colliding with another near the accident site. Rescuers are searching through the debris for survivors.
The local passenger train hit the goods train from behind and toppled over some coaches, senior government official Sanjay Agarwal told The Associated Press.
“Rescue team is trying to cut through the train to take out a few passengers trapped inside,” he said.
In a statement, network operator Indian Railways said it has moved all its resources for rescue efforts and shifting the injured to local hospitals for treatment. It said an inquiry into the cause of the accident has been started.
Train collisions aren’t uncommon in India where the vast rail network faces issues of aging infrastructure and human error.
More than 12 million people travel on India's 14,000 trains each day across 64,000 kilometers of track. Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents — some deadly — occur annually and are often blamed on human error or outdated signaling systems.
A crash in the eastern part of the country in 2023 killed more than 280 people in what was one of India’s deadliest train disasters.
AP/NSA
