Thirty-three killed as bridge collapses on Indian train

INDIA: Thirty-three people were killed and 15 injured when a 150-year-old bridge collapsed on a train in eastern India on Saturday, officials said.

"We have information that 33 passengers are dead and many injured," Rakesh Mishra, a railway official told Reuters by telephone from the site. "We have got all the bodies out and we are clearing the track to restore train services."

At least nine women and two children are among the injured.

The accident occurred when the bridge, which was being dismantled, crashed on the train near the Bhagalpur railway station in the state of Bihar.

Most of the rubble fell on one carriage, which police said, was carrying at least 70 people. Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav said a criminal case had been lodged against the agency involved in dismantling the bridge.

Also on Saturday, 12 people were killed and 25 injured when a bus fell into a deep gorge in a hilly north Indian state.

The bus driver failed to negotiate a turn, plunging the vehicle 200 metres (650 ft) near Shimla, a popular hill resort and the capital of Himachal Pradesh state, senior police officer Roopinder Kumar said.

RANCHI, Sunday, Reuters