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Sabotage suspected in India train derailment
September 15, 1997
Web posted at: 3:24 a.m. EST (0824 GMT)NEW DELHI, India (CNN) -- At least 77 people were killed when five train cars plunged into a river in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh on Sunday, state officials said.
The accident occurred in the early evening hours, when part of a passenger train plunged from a bridge into the Hansdev River, near the eastern town of Champa.
A senior police spokesman with the state-run Indian Railways said that in addition to the dead, about 200 passengers were injured.
A government spokesman said the death toll was likely to rise.
Authorities are investigating possible sabotage. Railway officials tell CNN that eight meters of the track were missing.
It is not known who could have removed the tracks, although officials suspect opponents of Railway Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, who was scheduled to attend an official function in the province Monday.
There have been demands for his resignation because of recent train accidents.
Several hundred train accidents occur in India each year.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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