Train crash in India kills at least 10 people

A passenger train slammed into a stationary freight train in northern India on Monday, killing at least 10 people.

Six carriages were derailed and emergency rescue teams are racing to free those trapped in the wreckage.

“We are trying to ascertain the exact number of casualties," an official said.

The Gorakhdham Express was travelling from Hisar city to Gorakhpur when it smashed into the freight train at Chureb station in Khalilabad, 700km east of New Delhi. 

Deadly accidents are frequent on India’s railway network. A 2012 government report said almost 15,000 people were killed every year on its railways.

In January, fire tore through a train full of sleeping passengers, killing nine people and forcing survivors to break open doors to escape. Weeks earlier, a fire on board a train killed 26 people. 

Last August, a high-speed train ploughed into a crowd of Hindu pilgrims as they tried to cross tracks, killing 37.

Source: AFP