India Train Crash: 150 Killed
Sky News Saturday October 29, 09:49 PM

A passenger train derailed and plunged into floodwater in southern India killing 150 people.Rescuers say a further 20 to 30 people are believed to have been washed away.Train carriages came off the rails in the state of Andhra Pradesh following heavy rains, which caused four reservoirs to overflow.

"A railway bridge across a stream collapsed due to heavy rains leading to the derailment," P Krishnaiah, from southcentral railways, said.

The Repalli-Secunderabad Janata train derailed between
Ramanapet and Vellugonda stations in the Nalgonda district.

Officials said the engine and first seven cars of the train toppled into the flood waters, leaving some of them partially submerged.

Local villagers rushed to the spot soon after the accident.

According to reports, around 500 passengers were travelling in the 14 coaches of the train at the time of the accident.

One of the coaches that derailed was reportedly carrying 110 passengers.

State-run Indian Railways transports more than 13 million passengers daily on networks that cover 66,800 miles across the country.

Some 300 accidents are recorded every year, some of which result in hundreds of deaths.