8 dead, 25 injured in Darjeeling train accident

Eight people, including three Railway employees, have died and at least 25 others were injured after an express train collided with a goods train in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal in India on Monday morning, NDTV reports. 

Kanchanjunga Express was travelling from Silchar in Assam to Sealdah in Kolkata when a goods train hit it from behind near Rangapani station, close to New Jalpaiguri.

Two coaches of Kanchanjunga Express were derailed in the crash, it is learnt. More details about the accident are awaited.

The Kanchanjunga Express is a daily train that connects Bengal with the Northeastern cities of Silchar and Agartala. This route is in the Chicken's Neck corridor, which connects the Northeast with the rest of the country. The accident on this line can potentially impact the movement of several other trains.

The Kanchanjunga Express is frequently used by tourists to travel to Darjeeling. The accident comes at a time when Kolkata and neighbouring South Bengal are reeling under a sultry summer and many are travelling to the hill station for some relief.

According to the information so far, the goods train overshot the signal and crashed into the Kanchanjunga Express. Teams of the National Disaster Response Force and ambulances have been rushed to the spot. Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw is learnt to be monitoring the situation from the Railways war room in Delhi.  

One factor which managed to limit the human loss in the accident is the fact that the rear part of Kanchanjunga Express comprised of the cargo van and the guard's coach and the passenger compartments were further ahead.