Trains collide in eastern India, killing at least 8 with rescue work ongoing
NEW DELHI (AP) — A cargo train rammed into a passenger train in India’s eastern state of West Bengal on Monday, killing at least eight people and injuring several others with rescue work ongoing.
The state’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said in a post on social media platform X that doctors, disaster-response teams and ambulances were engaged in rescue work at the accident site, which is near the state’s Darjeeling district, a tourist spot nestled in the Himalayan foothills. “Action on war-footing initiated,” she said.
Sabyasachi De, the spokesperson of the Northeast Frontier Railway, said three of the eight dead were railway personnel. At least 25 people were injured in the collision, which occurred close to the New Jalpaiguri station.
Television channels showed visuals of one train rammed into the end of the other, with one compartment rising vertically in the air. Swarms of people had gathered at the spot, where rescuers were searching the crash site.