Indian rescuers carry away a victim of  the deadly train fire.
New Delhi CNN  — 

At least 23 people were killed and eight injured after a compartment of a passenger train caught fire early Saturday in southeast India, railway spokesman Anil Kumar Saxena said.

Some 60 passengers were on board when the fire broke out on a Bangalore-Nanded express train near the Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh state, he said.

The fire began at about 3:15 a.m. local time in the B1 train compartment, railway official Sunanda Arun said.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.

CNN’s John Raedler contributed to this report.