Train crash in West Bengal: Eight dead and 60 injured in train crash in India

Eight people were killed and around 60 injured in a train accident in the eastern Indian state of West Bengal.

The accident occurred when a loaded Kanchenjungha Express train collided with a stationary passenger train in the New Jalpaiguri area on Monday morning.

Dramatic images from the scene of the accident show a carriage of the express train floating in the air.

Authorities believe the crash was due to “human error” and are conducting a thorough investigation.

According to officials, ambulances and disaster relief teams sent to the scene of the accident arrived at 08:55 local time (03:25 GMT) after the accident.

The state’s chief minister, Mamata Banerjee, expressed her dismay at the accident and said they would act “on a war footing”.

The Pipos include the driver and assistant driver of the loaded train and the conductor of the Kanchenjungha Express.

“We cannot provide a complete rescue,” Jaya Varma Sinha, CEO of the railway company, told Tori Pipo.

They are treating the injured at the medical college in Siliguri, she said. “Our top priority is to provide them with the best possible medical help.”

Railway official Sabyasachi De told Tori Pipo, “As per the preliminary information available to us, a loaded train crashed into the Kanchenjungha Express from behind.” And they say that after investigation, they have confirmed the cause of the crash.

Ms Sinha said the accident was probably due to human error. “According to initial investigations, the driver of the freight train may have ignored the signal.”

She added that Kavach, an automatic train protection system developed by the Indian Railways, is currently being planned and developed for the state of West Bengal.

A police official told reporters that the locomotive of the freight train had broken down, while three carriages of the express train had derailed.

A rescue official told the Times of India that the rescue effort should not involve the use of gas cutters as this could endanger the lives of the pilots trapped on the train.

E Tok says relief efforts are progressing slowly due to heavy rains in the area.

Federal Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the relief teams are working closely with railway officials to carry out the rescue operations.

The minister said he should not travel to the scene of the accident.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi called the incident “sad” and did not inform officials about rescue efforts.

“My condolences to the deceased who lost his loved ones. I pray for a speedy recovery for the injured,” he writes on X.

We are announcing compensation of Rs 200,000 (US$2,394, £1,890) to the families of the deceased passengers and Rs 50,000 to each of the injured passengers.

The railways has set up a control desk with a helpline number at Rangapani station, near where the collision occurred.

Last year, around 290 people were killed and over 1,000 injured in a devastating accident involving three trains in the eastern state of Odisha.