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| India-Pakistan |
| At least 25 dead in India train blast and collision |
| 2010-05-28 |
| Rescue workers are trying to free survivors from the wreckage of a train in eastern India after a blast on the line killed at least 25. The blast hurled a passenger train into the path of a goods train speeding in the opposite direction in West Midnapore, a railway spokesman said. The number of dead was expected to rise after the incident early on Friday. The area is known to be a Maoist stronghold but officials say it is too early to say if rebels were to blame. The passenger train was travelling from Mumbai to the eastern city of Kolkata, in the West Midnapore district of West Bengal state. Railway official Manoj Kumar told Reuters: "At this stage I can confirm 25 deaths. The toll will be much higher." A doctor quoted by AFP said there had been 30 deaths. A local government official said the toll could go up to "anywhere around 50-60" because many passengers were trapped inside mangled coaches. "We can give a final figure only after rescue operations are complete. We have to cut open the compartments and bring out bodies." Another railway spokesman, Soumitra Majumdar, said: "The blast derailed 13 coaches of the Gyaneswari Express. These coaches then fell on the other track where a goods train rammed into some of them." |
| Posted by:john frum |