Dozens Killed in India Train Wreck

A passenger train plunged into a riverbed in central India on Sunday, killing dozens of people and injuring scores more, local news agencies reported.

The Press Trust of India news agency reported that 36 people were killed and 200 others injured when five cars of the Ahmadabad-Haora Express train crashed into the Hansdev River.

However, United News of India cited a conflicting report that put the death toll at 100, with 400 others injured in the accident.

Witnesses said that the railway track was under repair just before the crash site. They said the train screeched to a halt but that the first five cars derailed and plunged into the river.

Panna Lal, a top police official with state-run Indian Railways said local rescue workers reported that an iron link between one of the cars came apart, causing the derailment.

The news agencies said the train fell into a dry riverbed, but officials at the local railway control room said the river was flooded from monsoon rains.

The accident occurred near the town of Champa in the state of Madhya Pradesh, about 340 miles southeast of Bhopal, the state capital.

The train was on its way from Ahmadabad in western India to Calcutta in the east. The accident occurred at dusk, and it appeared that officials were waiting until this morning to intensify rescue efforts.