11 injured, 35 injured as train hits truck in India

Nov 1, 2009, 10:22 GMT

New Delhi - At least 11 people were killed and 35 injured when a passenger train rammed into a truck at an unmanned railway crossing in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state on Sunday, officials said.

The accident occurred near a village in the Gonda district, situated 125 kilometres north-east of state capital Lucknow.

'Eleven people were killed when the truck was hit by the train at the crossing,' Divisional Railway Manager (North-Eastern Railway) AK Singh said over telephone.

'Nine train passengers and the driver of the truck were among the victims. They died on the scene or on way to the hospital,' he said.

The impact of the collision was such that the truck was smashed into pieces. The injured were being treated at local hospitals.

Railway officials blamed the truck driver for the accident. 'It was clearly his fault as he drove on to the tracks not noticing the approaching train,' Singh said.

Indian Railways reports a number of accidents each year. Railway officials, however, claim that the number of accidents has come down to an average of 190 from 325 a year in the past five years.

Indian Railways operates one of the largest rail networks in the world. Its 8,500 trains carry 16 million passengers over a 63,000- kilometre rail network across the country every day.