Two passenger trains in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh derailed minutes apart on a flooded bridge, killing at least 24 people, officials said.
The trains were passing each other near the town of Harda when a flash flood triggered by heavy rain struck the bridge, reports said, BBC reported.
The tracks collapsed and some of the carriages were submerged. Officials say at least 25 people have been injured and another 300 rescued.
The Kamayani Express traveling to Varanasi from Mumbai derailed first, while the Janata Express traveling in the opposite direction derailed shortly after. It was not clear how many people were on both trains.
The bridge crosses the Machak River, about 950 km away from India’s capital, Delhi.
“This unfortunate accident took place because of the flash floods on the tracks and the track caved in and resulted in the derailment of the last six coaches of the Kamayani Express,” railroad’s spokesperson Anil Saksena said.
Safety standards on India’s massive state-run railroad network have been a concern amid a spate of accidents.
In March a passenger train derailed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, killing at least 34 people. In February last year, at least 11 people died after three coaches of the Bangalore-Ernakulam Intercity Express derailed in the southern state of Karnataka.
Correspondents say the state-run railroad network has a patchy safety record. Decades of neglect, low investment and subsidized fares have left the network in a shambles.
