.jpg)
.png)
33 dead in India as train hits bus
At least 33 people died after a train hit a bus carrying wedding guests at a level crossing in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, according to official reports.
The accident happened at an unmanned level crossing near Patiyali, a town 250km (160 miles) south-east of Delhi, when an express train ploughed into the packed bus, dragging it several hundred metres down the track, reports said.
The accident happened at about 0200 (2030 GMT Wednesday). The bus, carrying up to 100 wedding guests, had come to a halt at the crossing after its axle broke. It was subsequently hit by the train, local administrator Selva Kumar was reported as saying by Associated Press.
People sitting on the roof of the bus were thrown off and seriously injured while those inside were crushed, the
One of the injured told a local journalist that he had been sitting on the roof of the bus when he saw the train coming towards them. He said he tried to warn the driver, who did not appear to hear him.
More than 20 people have been admitted to a nearby hospital while efforts are continuing to free those trapped in the wreckage.
The bride and the groom were travelling separately and were not hurt.
"Talking to the survivors, it seems the bus driver must have either not seen the signal or not heard the train when he decided to attempt the crossing," SK Seth, chief of a local hospital where the injured have been admitted, told the AFP news agency.
TV pictures from the site of the accident showed policemen carrying bodies on stretchers from the wreckage of the bus.
