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At least seven people were killed when an express passenger train and a goods train collided on Monday in India鈥檚 West Bengal state, derailing three passenger carriages, police said.

Images on Indian broadcasters showed the tangled wreckage of carriages flipped on their side, and one thrust high into the air precariously balanced on another.


Police said that rescuers were scouring the twisted carriages in case there were more bodies trapped beneath.

鈥榃e have confirmation of seven deaths and 39 passengers admitted at a local hospital with various聽injuries,鈥� local police officer Iftikar-Ul-Hassan told AFP.

The incident is the latest to hit India鈥檚 creaking rail network, which carries millions of passengers each day.

鈥榃e just saw the bodies of a dead driver and a guard... their bodies were taken out,鈥� Rajesh Kumar Singh, from the Railway Protection Force, told AFP.

鈥楽ome more bodies may be under the crash site, but we don鈥檛 yet聽know聽for聽sure.鈥�

Prime Minister Narendra Modi offered his condolences to 鈥榯hose who lost their loved ones鈥�, in a post on social media, adding that 鈥榬escue operations are underway鈥�.

West Bengal鈥檚 Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee called the crash 鈥榯ragic鈥� in a post on social media.

鈥楧octors, ambulances and disaster teams have been rushed to the site for rescue, recovery, medical assistance,鈥� Banerjee said. 鈥楢ction on war footing initiated.鈥�

Banerjee said the crash took place in the Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district, when the聽Kanchenjunga Express train was hit by a goods train.

Railways minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the 鈥榠njured are being shifted to the hospital鈥�.

India has one of the world鈥檚 largest rail networks and has seen several disasters over the years, the worst in 1981 when a train derailed while crossing a bridge in Bihar state, killing an estimated 800 people.

In June last year, a three-train collision killed nearly 300 people in Odisha state.

In recent years, India has been investing huge sums of money to upgrade the network with modern stations and electronic signalling systems.

On Sunday, a train crossed for the first time the world鈥檚 highest railway bridge -- 359 metres (1178 feet) above a river -- in India鈥檚 Himalayan region, the railways minister Vaishnaw said.

The arch-shaped steel structure over the Chenab River links sections of northern Jammu and Kashmir state, connecting the disputed territory to the rest of India.

Work on the railway track has been ongoing for nearly three decades, and the trial run comes ahead of a formal opening expected within weeks.