Train derails in South India

At least 10 passengers were killed and dozens injured Friday as several coaches of a train derailed in southern India, an official said.

Rescuers used gas cutters to cut open the toppled coaches of the Bangalore-Ernakulam Intercity Express to evacuate passengers trapped inside, said Sivanna, an eyewitness who uses one name.

Anil Kumar Aggarwal, the rail official, said the injured were taken to hospitals near Bangalore, the capital of southern Karnataka state.

The Press Trust of India news agency said nine coaches went off the rails and several people were critically injured in the accident.

The cause of the accident was not immediately known. Accidents are common on India's vast rail network that carries 23 million people every day. Accidents are often blamed on human and technical errors.

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