Summary Two trains derailed within minutes of each other while crossing a bridge in central India.
MUMBAI (AFP) - Rescue teams were searching for passengers after two trains derailed within minutes of each other while crossing a bridge in central India, local media reported Wednesday.
One of the trains was on its way to Mumbai when the accident happened in Madhya Pradesh state, while the other was travelling in the opposite direction, the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency reported.
It was not clear how many passengers the trains had been carrying or whether there were any deaths. However PTI quoted a railways official as saying some casualties were feared.
PTI reported that the river below the bridge crossing had been swollen and there had been water on the tracks.
"Rushing emergency medical and other relief personnel to spot, darkness, water creating hurdles but ordered all possible help. Trying our best," India s Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Twitter.
India s railway network, one of the world s largest, is still the main form of long-distance travel in the vast country, but it is poorly funded and deadly accidents are frequent.
In 2012, a government report said almost 15,000 people were killed every year on India s railways, describing the deaths as an annual "massacre" due mainly to poor safety standards.
India s government has pledged to invest $137 billion to modernise its crumbling railways, making them safer, faster and more efficient.
