At least eight people have been killed and dozens more injured after two trains crashed into each other in India, jamming carriages vertically into the air.
Shocking pictures form the scene show a carriage suspended in mid-air as worried onlookers gather nearby after the tragic train pile-up.
A cargo train rammed into the back of a passenger train in India’s eastern state of West Bengal on Monday, with rescue work now underway.
The accident happened after the goods train overshot a signal before smashing into the back of the Kanchanjunga Express, railway authorities told local media.
The state’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in a post on X (formerly Twitter), that doctors, disaster-response teams and ambulances were engaged in work at the accident site, which is near the Darjeeling district, a tourist spot in the Himalayan foothills.
The West Bengal chief minister said: ‘Shocked to learn, just now, about a tragic train accident, in Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district.
“Doctors, ambulances and disaster teams have been rushed to the site for rescue, recovery, medical assistance. Action on war-footing initiated.”
Sabyasachi De, spokesperson for the Northeast Frontier Railway, said three of the eight dead were railway workers.
At least 25 people were injured in the collision, which occurred close to the New Jalpaiguri station, and have been taken to a nearby hospital.
He told ANI: “They are non-fatal injuries. The rescue operation is going on a war footing.
“We are trying to finish the rescue operation as soon as possible. Senior officials have already reached the site.
“According to the preliminary information that Kanchenjunga was hit from the rear by a goods train…We have information of 8 deaths.”
Four compartments at the rear of the passenger train went off the rails due to the impact, most of which were carrying cargo while one was a passenger coach, according to Mr De.
Television channels showed visuals of one train rammed into the end of the other, with one compartment rising vertically in the air.
Swarms of people gathered at the spot, where rescuers were searching the crash site.
The Kanchanjunga Express is a daily train that connects West Bengal state with other cities in the northeast.
It is often used by tourists who travel to the hill station of Darjeeling, popular at this time of year when several Indian cities are sweltering in the heat.
More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India daily, traveling on 64,000 kilometers (40,000 miles) of track.
Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents happen annually on India’s railways. Most are blamed on human error or outdated signaling equipment.
In June last year, an enormous train crash in eastern India killed over 280 people in one of the country’s deadliest rail crashes in decades.