Train Derails in South India, Killing 19

At least 19 people were killed and 70 injured when an express train derailed in southern India early Saturday, officials said.

At least seven cars and the engine of the Bangalore Express jumped the tracks 155 miles south of Hyderabad, the capital of Andhra Pradesh state.

The train was traveling from Hyderabad to the city of Bangalore when it derailed about 1 a.m.

Rescue workers recovered 18 bodies from the scene of the accident, and one passenger died after being taken to a hospital, said S.M. Singla, chief of railroad services in the country’s south-central zone. Singla said rescue workers had finished searching for bodies in the derailed cars and the tracks were cleared for other trains.

About 30 passengers were being treated at nearby hospitals, while others with minor injuries received first-aid treatment, local police said. Six of the injured were believed to be in critical condition.

The train was running at 55 mph when the accident occurred, said Bandaru Dutta Ray, India’s junior railroad minister.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Poor track maintenance often leads to derailments in India.

Saturday’s derailment was the fifth this year.

At least 118 people died when a train plunged off a bridge in eastern India in September.