Dozens of passengers killed in India train crash

  • Updated
  • 22/01/2017
India train crash derailment (Reuters)
The cause of the crash is not yet known (Reuters)

At least 36 people have been killed and 50 injured after a passenger train derailed in eastern India.

Nine coaches derailed in the crash on Saturday night (local time), which is the latest disaster to hit the vast and accident-prone state railways, police said.

The express train from Jagdalpur to Bhubaneswar derailed near Kuneri station, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, around 30km outside the town of Raigarh.

"Most of the casualties and deaths are from the three sleeper class compartments," a local police spokesperson said.

The cause of the crash is not yet known.

Train accidents are not unusual incidents in India. 

Last November, more than 140 people were killed in a derailment in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state.

In March 2015, another accident in Uttar Pradesh killed 39 people and injured 150.

Reuters / Newshub.