Freight train slams into passenger train in central India, killing 10, injuring 50

Train crash kills 10 in central India, injures 50

NEW DELHI — A freight train on the wrong track slammed into a stopped passenger locomotive at a railway station amid heavy rain early Monday in central India, killing at least 10 people and injuring 50, officials said.

The death toll could rise as the debris is cleared, rail official R.S. Yadav said.

The crash happened at the Bhaderwah rail station, 235 miles (375 kilometers) south of the Indian capital, New Delhi.

The freight train was on a wrong track and hit the passenger train head-on, he told The Associated Press.

At least 50 passengers were injured, 10 of them seriously, said K.K. Dube, a railroad spokesman.

Accidents are common on India’s sprawling rail network, one of the world’s largest but lacking in modern signaling and communication systems. Most crashes are blamed on poor maintenance and human error.

In July, 63 people were killed after a train smashed into another locomotive at a rail station in West Bengal state.

A passenger train derailed and was hit by a cargo train in May, killing 145 people in West Bengal state. Authorities blamed sabotage by Maoist rebels for that crash.