At least 7 people have died in the collision between a high-speed passenger and freight train in the Indian state of West Bengal.
The collision derailed three passenger cars, the police said.
Footage on Indian television showed the tangled wreckage of overturned carriages and one carriage thrown high into the air, perched precariously on top of another carriage.
"At least 7 people died and 25-30 were injured," senior police officer Abhishek Gupta told AFP from the scene of the crash.
"Three compartments of the express train have derailed," he added.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the crash "tragic" in a social media post.
"Doctors, ambulances and disaster response teams have rushed to the scene for rescue, recovery, medical assistance," Banerjee wrote. "A military action has been initiated."
The disaster occurred in Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district when Kanchenjonga Express was hit by a freight train.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, "the injured have been shifted to hospital".
The incident is the latest to affect India's creaking rail network, which carries millions of passengers every day.
India has one of the largest railway networks in the world and has witnessed several accidents over the years, the worst of which was in 1981 when a train derailed while crossing a bridge in the state of Bihar, killing around 800 people.
In June last year, nearly 300 people died when three trains collided in the state of Odisha.
In recent years, India has invested huge sums to modernize the network with modern stations and electronic signalling systems. | BGNES
