50 killed in Indian train disaster: police

AMRITSAR: At least 50 people were killed Friday after a train ploughed into revellers celebrating a Hindu festival in northern India, police said, the latest major accident on the country’s crumbling rail network.

A crowd had gathered on railway tracks in the city of Amritsar in Punjab state to watch a fireworks show marking the Dussehra festival when the train barrelled down the line at speed.

Millions of Hindus celebrate the festival every year with the burning of giant effigies, symbolising the triumph of good over evil.

“There are more than 50 dead. The priority now is to take the injured to the hospital,” Amritsar city police commissioner SS Srivastava told reporters.

More than 60 people who were injured were being given emergency treatment at various hospitals across the city, he added.

An AFP photographer at the scene said some victims had lost limbs in the accident while others suffered head wounds.