2 killed, many injured as train runs over passengers in India

At least two people were killed and several others injured Wednesday after a train ran over passengers on the railway track in the eastern Indian state of Jharkhand, officials said.

The accident took place in the evening near Kalajharia railway station in Jamtara district about 215 km northeast of Ranchi, the capital city of Jharkhand. Reports said the passengers disembarked the train and assembled on the railway track following rumours that a fire broke out inside it. "This evening we got information that some passengers who had got off the train which halted at Kalajharia railway crossing were overrun by another local train. We immediately along with the local police and railway police force reached the spot. During the searches, two bodies have been found," a senior local government official Anant Kumar told media.

According to Kumar, the exact number of injured can be known only after the officials are able to collect the details from government and private hospitals. Kumar further said the actual cause of the accident will be known after an investigation by the railways.Last June 295 passengers were killed in the worst train accident in India's recent history.

xinhua