Speeding train mows down 35 in India

At least 35 people were killed when a speeding train ran over a crowd in India's eastern state of Bihar, local media reported on Monday. The reports said the incident happened on Monday morning in Khagaria district of Bihar, around 180 km from the capital Patna. A speeding train mowed down scores of people while they were crossing the track near a local railway station. "35 people were killed and nearly as many injured," the local member of Parliament Khagaria, Dinesh Chandra Yadav, told NDTV news channel. Scores of injured have been hospitalized and many of them are reported to be in critical condition, reports said. Following the incident, the angry people and passengers set ablaze two coaches, assaulted the train driver, and took railway officials hostage, the reports added. Local media reported that that the majority of those killed were pilgrims who have de-boarded a train and were rushing to cross the tracks near a station in Katyani Sthan, which is considered to be a religious stopover. Local railway officials said rail services have been suspended in the area, which is the remotest part of Bihar.