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“tragic”
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee wrote on social media that the accident was “tragic”.
“Doctors, ambulances and disaster relief teams have rushed to the spot for rescue, recovery and medical assistance. We have initiated emergency operations,” Banerjee said.
Banerjee said the accident took place in the Pansetwa area of Darjeeling district when a Kanchenjunga Express train collided with a freight train.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the “injured are being taken to hospitals”.
India has one of the world’s largest rail networks and has seen a number of disasters over the years, the worst of which was in 1981 when a train derailed while crossing a bridge in Bihar state, killing about 800 people.
Last June, three trains collided in Odisha, killing nearly 300 people.
In recent years, India has been investing huge sums of money to upgrade its railway network with modern stations and electronic signaling systems.
A train crossed for the first time on Sunday the world’s highest railway bridge in the Indian Himalayas, which is 359 metres above a river, Railway Minister Vaishno said.
The arched steel structure spanning the Chenab River connects parts of the northern state of Jammu and Kashmir, linking the disputed territory to the rest of India.
Construction of the railway has been ongoing for nearly three decades, and this trial run will bring the official opening to traffic weeks ahead of schedule.
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