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A train collision in India’s West Bengal state on Monday resulted in at least 15 deaths and dozens of injuries.
Al Jazeera reported that a catastrophic accident occurred in the Darjeeling district when a freight train collided with the Kanchanjunga Express passenger train.
Preliminary investigations indicate that human error is the likely cause of this tragic incident, highlighting the ongoing safety concerns impacting India’s rail network, which experiences hundreds of accidents annually.
Rescue efforts are ongoing in Darjeeling, West Bengal, following a tragic train collision that has resulted in at least 15 fatalities, as reported by Abhishek Roy, a senior police official.
The death toll could potentially increase as crews work to clear debris from the damaged train carriages.
Nearly 30 individuals have sustained injuries, and a combined team of police, national disaster response forces, medical professionals, and local residents is working together to locate survivors.
Spokesperson for the Northeast Frontier Railway, Sabyasachi De, confirmed that three of the fatalities were railway staff members.
West Bengal Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, has dispatched emergency responders, including doctors, ambulances, and disaster teams, to the site of the train crash near New Jalpaiguri station.
She described the efforts as “action on a war footing” and characterized the incident as “tragic.”
While she did not initially confirm the number of casualties, her swift response indicates the severity of the situation.