Train Collision Leaves 65 Dead in India

At least 65 people died when two trains collided in north-east India after one was derailed by what officials say was an act of Maoist sabotage.

The Calcutta-Mumbai passenger train derailed overnight in West Bengal where a section of track had been removed, a rail official said.

Carriages and passengers were thrown in front of a goods train travelling in the opposite direction. The area is known to be a stronghold of Maoist rebels, reports BBC News.

At least 200 people were injured, and the casualty toll was expected to rise as hundreds of people have yet to be cut free from the wreckage, some eight hours after the collision in the Jhargram area of West Midnapore.

The state police chief said a 1.5ft portion of the train track was missing, and that the Maoists had claimed responsibility for the act of sabotage.

"We have recovered two posters by a local Maoist militia from the site of the accident," said West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh. "They have claimed responsibility for the incident in the posters."

Early reports said the passenger train had been derailed by an explosion.