The accident occurred in Uttar Pradesh state when the driver of the train applied emergency brakes, said A.K. Jain, additional director general of the railway police.

Jain said he feared the death toll would go up. Injured passengers were taken to nearby hospitals.

In a separate accident, around 50 passengers were injured after four coaches of a train got derailed in the north eastern state of Assam.

State police and railway authorities said an explosion on the track led to the derailment and investigations were on.

On July 7, at least 31 people were killed when a train rammed into a bus driving over a level crossing which did not have a gate or an attendant, typical of several such crossings in India.

Reuters