Deadly train crash in West Bengal

India has a poor railway safety record

A passenger train has jumped the rails in north-east India, killing one and injuring more than 50, officials say.

The incident happened near Nijbari in West Bengal state as a train bound for the capital, Delhi, travelled from the town of Dibrugarh in Assam state.

Thirteen coaches and the engine of the the Brahmaputra Mail were thrown off the tracks, officials said.

India's state-run railways, which carry more than 13 million passengers a day, have a poor safety record.

One passenger died in hospital after the latest accident in the north of West Bengal on Sunday night.

Doctors said the death toll could rise because many of the injured were in a serious condition.

Most passengers were Indian soldiers or federal policemen going home on leave from counter-insurgency operations in Assam.

Intelligence officials do not rule out sabotage - but railway authorities say that can only be established after a proper investigation.

The BBC's Subir Bhaumik in Calcutta says the last major accident on this busy rail route linking Assam with Delhi happened in August 1999, when a Brahmaputra Mail train collided with a stationary train at Gaisal, near the site of Sunday night's crash, killing at least 300 people.

About 300 rail accidents are reported every year across India, resulting in a high number of casualties.