A passenger train that collided with a stationary goods train in western India today has killed at least 17 people and injured more than 70 others.
Officials initially estimated that dozens had been killed in the early morning crash in Gujarat state as passengers were trapped inside four cars, which had jumped the tracks due to the collision.
Officials in Samlaya village said they were still searching for people feared trapped inside a car stuck at the bottom of the wreckage.
Television reports said the Sabarmati Express, which was travelling from the holy city of Varanasi to Ahmedabad, Gujarat's main city, was packed with young people on their way to sit for tests for coveted railways jobs.
A railway official said: "It [the cause] looks like a human error as the guard on duty did not give a proper signal."
About 300 accidents occur every year on India's railways, which operate almost 12,000 trains carrying more than 13 million people every day.
Experts say the rail system, saddled with huge losses because of rock-bottom fares and a massive workforce, has little money to invest in improving safety and infrastructure.