At least 33 people are reported dead, and over 30 injured in India after a bus carrying a wedding party was struck by a train at a level crossing in Uttar Pradesh state.
The pre-dawn accident occurred in Uttar Pradesh state, senior government official Selva Kumari J. told reporters. Local media said the bus was carrying 80 passengers who were returning from a wedding.
The railway crossing did not have a gate or an attendant, she said, typical of several such crossings in India.
People sitting on the roof of the bus were thrown off and seriously injured while those inside were crushed, reports the BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi in Lucknow. No passengers on the train were hurt.
The bride and the groom were travelling in a separate vehicle and were not among the victims.
Many of the injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital while efforts are continuing to free those trapped in the wreckage.
The accident occurred at Kanshiramnagar at around 2 am today (07-July-2011) when the train was on its way from Mathura to Chapra in Bihar.
"The train was passing this area around 1.55 am when it collided with the bus at the crossing. There was a loud noise, we didn't know what had happened. We found debris of the bus, some were seriously injured and some dead bodies were lying there. The train was going from Mathura to Chapra Expressway. The train had started from Mathura at 11.15 pm," said an eyewitness.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed grief at the tragic loss of lives in the accident and has ordered an inquiry. He has also ordered an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for all those seriously injured.
The railway crossing did not have a gate or an attendant, she said, typical of several such crossings in India.
People sitting on the roof of the bus were thrown off and seriously injured while those inside were crushed, reports the BBC's Ram Dutt Tripathi in Lucknow. No passengers on the train were hurt.
The bride and the groom were travelling in a separate vehicle and were not among the victims.
Many of the injured have been admitted to a nearby hospital while efforts are continuing to free those trapped in the wreckage.
The accident occurred at Kanshiramnagar at around 2 am today (07-July-2011) when the train was on its way from Mathura to Chapra in Bihar.
"The train was passing this area around 1.55 am when it collided with the bus at the crossing. There was a loud noise, we didn't know what had happened. We found debris of the bus, some were seriously injured and some dead bodies were lying there. The train was going from Mathura to Chapra Expressway. The train had started from Mathura at 11.15 pm," said an eyewitness.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has expressed grief at the tragic loss of lives in the accident and has ordered an inquiry. He has also ordered an ex-gratia relief of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 each for all those seriously injured.
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