21 die as a train rams another in northern India

[October 21, 2009]  NEW DELHI (AP) -- A passenger train crashed into another train's rear carriage reserved for women and disabled passengers, killing 21 people and injuring 17 who remained trapped for hours Wednesday near the Taj Mahal in northern India, police said.

Rescuers had to cut open the wrecked compartment to free trapped passengers following the crash near Agra, about 130 miles (210 kilometers) southeast of New Delhi, said Rajesh Bajpai, a railway spokesman.

Rescuers recovered 19 bodies during an operation that lasted nearly seven hours, said Rajesh Dikshit, a police spokesman. Two of the 19 injured people died at a hospital, Dikshit told The Associated Press.

No foreigners were among the victims, he said.

The smashed coach was reserved for women and physically handicapped people, although some other people may have been among the victims, district Magistrate Suresh Chandra Sharma said.

The two trains were heading to New Delhi from southern India. The Mewar Express was stopped at a red signal when the other train rammed it from behind, Suresh Chandra Sharma, the district magistrate, told The Associated Press.

"We felt a massive jolt," said Ramesh Charan, a passenger aboard the Mewar Express. "Some people sleeping on upper berths fell to the coach floor by the impact of the collision."

Villagers and army soldiers stationed nearby helped police and rail officials in rescuing injured people.

Authorities are still trying to determine why the accident happened, rail official Sri Prakash said.

Accidents are common on India's sprawling rail network, which is one of the world's largest, with most blamed on poor maintenance.

[Associated Press; By ASHOK SHARMA]

Associated Press writer Biswajeet Banerjee in Lucknow contributed to the report.

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