Indian rail crash leaves at least 20 dead
At least 20 people were killed today when an express train hit boulders on a bridge and two carriages were left hanging over a precipice 125 miles from Bombay in western India.
The locomotive of the Bombay-bound Matsyagandha Express derailed and fell off the bridge in Maharashtra state, said spokeswoman Vaishali Patange.
At least 20 people were killed and 50 injured, said Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav. Hospital officials said six of the dead were children.
The line slices through hills on both sides. Boulders had streamed onto the tracks from a nearby cliff following heavy monsoon rains, the railway minister said.
A similar derailment in the region in June last year killed 51 passengers.
The route is considered one of India’s most scenic rail journeys. It cuts through hills and rivers along the western coast and has 91 tunnels between Bombay and Mangalore.
