Sabotage fear in train crash

The crash happened when an express slammed into another train as it left the platform at Sainthia, about 125 miles north of Calcutta. Three carriages of the second train were destroyed, leaving a tangle of twisted metal. Two were reserved for passengers on the cheapest tickets and are usually packed.

The impact was so great the roof of one carriage was hurled onto an overpass above the tracks. It was the second major train crash in the state of West Bengal in the past two months. On May 28 a passenger train derailed and was hit by an cargo train in a crash that killed 145 people. Authorities then blamed sabotage by Maoist rebels.

Accidents are common on India's sprawling rail network, one of the world's largest, with most blamed on poor maintenance and human error. An investigation into the cause was started.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee, who went to the site, said the crash could have been another case of sabotage.