KOLKATA, India — A freight train collided with the rear of a stationary passenger train in India’s West Bengal state on Monday, resulting in at least 15 fatalities and injuring dozens more, according to police reports. Railway authorities have attributed the accident to a disregarded signal.

Media outlets have displayed dramatic images of the aftermath, with containers from the freight train scattered across the scene and one carriage of the passenger train positioned nearly vertical due to the impact. This incident occurs just over a year after a signaling error caused one of India’s deadliest rail crashes.

Abhishek Roy, a senior police official in Darjeeling, where the accident occurred, reported that at least 15 bodies have been recovered from the wreckage. Nearly 30 individuals sustained injuries, and rescue teams comprising police, national disaster response forces, doctors, and local residents are working to clear the debris from the derailed carriages.

The collision involved the goods train crashing into the Kanchanjunga Express, which was en route to Kolkata from Tripura, a northeastern state. The impact derailed three carriages of the passenger train. The exact number of passengers on board at the time of the collision has not yet been determined.

Rescue efforts have involved the use of iron rods and ropes to free a carriage that had been propelled onto the roof of the freight train due to the collision. The casualties include the driver of the freight train and a guard from the passenger train, as confirmed by Jaya Varma Sinha, head of the railway board overseeing the national network.

Sinha explained that the accident was caused by the freight train driver ignoring a signal, leading to the collision with the rear end of the express train. Rescue operations have been concluded, and efforts are underway to restore rail traffic, although the damage was not as severe as initially anticipated.

“The guard’s compartment in the passenger train was badly damaged,” Sinha noted. “There were two parcel vans attached ahead of it, which reduced the extent of damage to passengers.”

Nearby residents reported hearing a loud crash and discovered the wreckage upon investigation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences over the loss of life and stated that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was en route to the accident site.

This accident is reminiscent of a tragic rail incident a year ago in the neighboring state of Odisha, where approximately 288 people died due to a signal failure, marking India’s worst rail disaster in over two decades.

The broader implications of this accident are likely to reignite discussions on railway safety and the need for improved signaling systems. India’s vast railway network, one of the largest and busiest in the world, has been plagued by safety issues, including outdated infrastructure and human error. This incident underscores the urgent need for comprehensive safety reforms to prevent future tragedies.