The state's chief minister Mamata Banerjee said in a post on social media platform X that a goods train had collided with Kanchanjunga Express in the state's Darjeeling district.
Banerjee added that rescue work was ongoing, with a team of doctors, disaster teams and ambulances at the site.
"Action on war-footing initiated," she said.
Shocked to learn, just now, about a tragic train accident, in Phansidewa area of Darjeeling district. While details are awaited, Kanchenjunga Express has reportedly been hit by a goods train. DM, SP, doctors, ambulances and disaster teams have been rushed to the site for rescue,…— Mamata Banerjee (@MamataOfficial) June 17, 2024
Television channels showed visuals of one train rammed into the end of the other, with one compartment rising vertically in the air. Swarms of people had gathered at the spot, where rescuers were searching the crash site.
What led to the collision was not immediately clear.
The Kanchanjunga Express is a daily train that connects West Bengal state with other cities in the northeast. It is often used by tourists who travel to the hill station of Darjeeling, popular at this time of year when several Indian cities are sweltering in the heat.
More than 12 million people ride 14,000 trains across India daily, travelling on 64,000km of track. Despite government efforts to improve rail safety, several hundred accidents happen annually on India's railways. Most are blamed on human error or outdated signalling equipment.
Last year, a train crash in eastern India killed over 280 people in one of the country's deadliest rail crashes in decades.
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