New Delhi Train Accident Victims Tribute

Many people have died after a school bus collided with a train at a railway crossing in the northern Indian state of Punjab, police officials say.

Children were among those killed in the accident in Moga district.

Railway official Sriprakash said the bus rammed into a manned railway crossing and hit a train.

Road accidents are common in India, claiming thousands of lives every year. Most of them are blamed on reckless driving and poorly maintained roads.

Mr Sriprakash told news channels that the driver of the bus sped into the closed railway crossing gate on a foggy Friday morning, broke through the gate and rammed into a passing train.

He said "10-12 persons" had been taken to a local hospital suffering injuries.

'Low visibility'

"The bus driver was responsible. There was fog, visibility was low, and still he hit the railway crossing," Mr Sriprakash said.

Early reports said that the driver of the bus was in a hurry to reach his destination.

The bus was carrying over 30 passengers, reports said.

Last year six children were killed after the bus carrying them to school plunged into a canal in the northern Indian state of Haryana.

Seventeen children were rescued by the police and villagers.

In 1997, at least 25 children drowned when a bus taking them to school careered off a bridge into a river in the Indian capital, Delhi.