Don't know if the Kenyan in Chief had anything ta do with this latest one. After all India ain't exactly on the big "O" hit list... Pakistan maybe... But India?

At least 18 dead, 112 injured in India train accident

Updated 47 minutes ago

Photo: A passenger train derailed in Raigad district of India's Maharashtra state on May 4, 2014. (AFP/STRDEL)

Map: India

A passenger train has derailed in western India, killing at least 18 people and injuring more than 100 as rescue workers raced to free those still trapped.

The train's engine and four of its carriages jumped the tracks on Sunday in the western state of Maharashtra, according to police control room official, Ramchandra Kamre.

"So far we have 18 reported deaths and 112 injured, who have been rushed to nearby hospitals for treatment," Mr Kamre said.

Rescuers were trying to pull out passengers still trapped in overturned carriages, with cranes and teams of workers at the site.

Railways minister, Mallikarjun Kharge, has ordered an investigation into the accident, which occurred on Sunday morning as the train was travelling from Diwa on the outskirts of Mumbai to the city of Sawantwadi in Maharashtra.

India's underfunded rail network has a poor safety record but remains the main form of long-distance travel in the country despite fierce competition from private airlines.

The country's worst rail accident was in 1981 when a train plunged into a river in the eastern state of Bihar, killing an estimated 800 people.

AFP

Topics: accidents, rail-transport, industry, transport, india, asia

First posted 51 minutes ago