At least four killed after India express train derails

At least four people have been killed and an unknown number injured after an express train derailed in India's Bihar state, local media reported Thursday.

The train from Anand Vihar Terminal railway station in Delhi came off the rails late Wednesday as it raced to the Kamakhya Junction in Assam, the Times of India newspaper reported.

"Four casualties have been confirmed and rescue operation is underway. Twenty-one coaches have derailed," Tarun Prakash, general manager of the East Central Railway, was quoted by the Times as saying.

ANI news agency also put the death toll at four.

Media reports said some wounded were rushed to hospital, but the number of injured was unclear.

"Deepest condolences for the irreparable loss," wrote railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on X, formerly Twitter.

He said an evacuation and rescue operation was "complete" and that passengers were being moved to a different train for their onward journey. He did not confirm the toll.

India has one of the world's largest rail networks and has seen several disasters over the years, the worst in 1981 when a train derailed while crossing a bridge in Bihar state and plunged into a river below, killing 800 people.

In June, a triple-train collision killed nearly 300 people in Odisha state.

In August at least nine people were killed when a coach parked in southern India caught fire as a passenger tried to make tea.

/KN/