News / India

2 killed, dozens injured as Indian train derails in West Bengal

Wednesday, 07 December 2016 9:38 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 07 December 2016 9:45 AM ]

Rescuers take rest and file reports after working overnight at the site after 14 coaches of a passenger train rolled off the track in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, Nov. 21, 2016. (Photo by AP)

Two coaches of a passenger train have run off the track in India’s West Bengal, leaving two people dead and dozens more injured.

34 passengers have been reported injured, with 6 of them in critical condition. The incident happened on Tuesday night.

Rescuers and medical emergency teams were immediately dispatched to the scene to provide help to the 150 stranded passengers.

Officials are investigating the exact cause of the incident. However, according to railway authorities, the derailment was due to overshooting of the red signal by the train’s driver.

Recent train accidents in India have raised concerns about the safety of rail travel.

There has been a lot of controversy ever since a crash in November took the lives of about 150 people. The tragedy prompted railway officials to request that the Finance Ministry allocate about 17.5 billion dollars to improve safety and modernize the network.

India has the world's fourth largest railway system and millions of poor travelers use the trains every day. It also connects 8,000 stations across the subcontinent. However the system has struggled under growing demand and a lack of investment in upgrades. It is often criticized for being inefficient, overburdened and unsafe as it was built 163 years ago by the colonial British government.

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