At least 40 people are dead after a train crashed into a parked freight train and derailed in India's northern Uttar Pradesh state on Monday.
The train Gorakhpur Express was reduced to a pile of metal after it crashed into the freight train parked on railway tracks in Sant Kabir Nagar, the Associated Press reported.
The high-speed express train's breaks were slammed to prevent the impact but it crashed, causing six of its cars to derail. Most of the 40 victims were traveling in one car meant for unreserved seats, police said.
"It has been reduced to a mangled iron mesh," senior police officer Amrendra Sainger told the AP. "We do not know as how many people were there."
The train was less than 30 miles from its destination of Gorakhpur after leaving Haryana state when the accident occurred. Police said it was difficult for rescue teams to immediately reach the train due to the crash site's remote location.
"By the time police and rail officials reached the spot, villagers and other passengers had moved the injured away," local police officer Zameer Ahmad told the AP.
Villagers said they heard the sound of the crash as they were working nearby the site, which was six miles from the nearest road.
"I was working in the field when I heard the whistle of the engine, and suddenly I heard the sound of crash. It was a terrible sound. It still reverberates in my ears," villager Ram Chander Chaudhry told the news channel Samachar Plus, according to the AP.
Most of the victims were poor farmers on their way home from Haryana.
The cause of the accident has not yet been determined. Accidents on India's railways are common, where cars are often overcrowded, the AP reported.
The driver of the train was found alive after the crash but later died from his injuries.
Officials are searching for the head of the railway station, who disappeared after the accident.
