At least 119 people are dead and more than 150 injured after an Indian express train derailed in northern state of Uttar Pradesh, with the toll set to rise amid a scramble to locate survivors.
Police officials said people were still missing as authorities were trying to ascertain what caused 14 carriages of the train – travelling between the northeastern city of Patna and the central city of Indore – to suddenly roll off the tracks in Pukhrayan, 65 kilometres south of Kanpur city.
More News Videos
Train derails in India, killing dozens
RAW VISION: The Patna-Indore Express train has derailed in northern India early on Sunday, killing dozens and injuring over 100 people. Not in English.
Amid scenes of desperation and anguish, survivors were looking for family members and some were also trying to enter the damaged carriages to rescue relatives and collect belongings, said senior railway official Pratap Rai.
"We are using every tactic to save lives but it's very difficult to cut the metal carriages," Rai said from the accident site.
![Rescuers search among the debris after 14 coaches of an overnight passenger train rolled off the track near Pukhrayan ...](/web/20161121092834im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/t/w/2/v/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gstciy.png/1479694158176.jpg)
The derailment is India's deadliest rail tragedy since more than 140 died in a 2010 collision in West Bengal.
Suresh Prabhu, India's Railways Minister, said in a tweet the government would immediately investigate the causes of the derailment and promised accountability with the "strictest possible action."
Authorities were checking if the air brakes that would have prevented the disaster failed, but added they would need to look further before concluding the reason behind the accidents.
TV footage showed badly mangled blue carriages, with crowds of people and police on top of the wreckage searching for survivors. One carriage was almost lying on its side, and appeared to have been completely torn apart.
![Rescuers pull out a body from the debris of an overnight passenger train disaster in India on Sunday.](/web/20161121092834im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/t/w/4/5/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gstciy.png/1479694159212.jpg)
Rescue officials with yellow helmets were working their way through the crowds, carrying victims from the mangled wreckage as teams struggled to remove the derailed wagons from the tracks, one of the main transportation routes for goods and passengers in northern India.
The packed train, operated by the Indian government, derailed in the early hours of Sunday when more than 500 passengers were sleeping, survivors said.
![People gather at the site of a train accident near Pukhrayan, about 270 kilometers from Allahabad, Sunday.](/web/20161121092834im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/t/i/x/0/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gstciy.png/1479694158176.jpg)
"Suddenly I could feel that the carriage was overturning. I immediately held the metal rod near the bathroom door," said Faizal Khan who was travelling with his wife and two children, all of whom survived the accident.
Buses are being pressed into service to help passengers complete their journey, Singh said.
![India's security forces personnel work at the site of the train accident.](/web/20161121092834im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/s/t/i/x/1/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gstciy.png/1479694158176.jpg)
"I can see bodies lying near the tracks, everyone is in a state of shock. There is no water or food for us," said Rajdeep Tanwar, a survivor.
India's creaking railway system is the world's fourth largest, ferrying more than 20 million people each day, but it has a poor safety record, with thousands of people dying in accidents every year, including in frequent train derailments.
An incident in Uttar Pradesh – India's most populous state – in March last year killed 39 people. Heavy rains in the eastern state of Andhra Pradesh in 2005 caused a train to derail, with some carriages plunging into a river, killing more than 100.
Reuters