Speeding train kills 16 in central India

BHOPAL, India - At least 16 people were killed in central India on Sunday when they were run over by a speeding train after getting off another train on a parallel line, authorities said.

About a dozen people were also injured in the accident on the outskirts of Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh state, said Anil Jain, spokesman of the state-run railway.

"It was horrifying. It happened within seconds and they were all mowed down even before we could realise what was happening," said a hawker, who witnessed the incident.

Jain said the victims had got off a local shuttle train after it stopped at Sukhi Sevania village to give way to an express train.

"These people were loitering on the track and did not see the speeding train coming," Jain said.

India has one of the world's largest railway networks but a poor safety record. Around 14,000 trains run daily, carrying more than 13 million passengers, and there are about 300 accidents on the system every year.

Railway authorities mostly blame "human error" for the accidents. They also say it is difficult to enforce discipline at stations, on trains and at crossings due to the sheer number of people who use the network.

In a similar accident, 15 people, including eight women and two children, were run over by a train while crossing a track in the western state of Maharashtra in 2001 after they got off another train that halted briefly on a parallel track.

- REUTERS