Fourteen killed after being run over by train

A train ran over and killed 14 Hindu pilgrims crossing a narrow railway bridge in northern India, police said today.

Hundreds of people were crossing the bridge late last night when the train approached, forcing many of them to jump into the river to escape, Shiva Kant, an eyewitness, told local television reporters.

Initially police had recovered only eight bodies, but today by evening local time, the toll had gone up to 14, said Arti Arora, a Home Ministry official in Uttar Pradesh state, where the accident took place.

The accident happened in Gonda, 90 miles south-east of state capital Lucknow, where thousands of Hindu devotees had gone for a religious function that started today.

The 1,000ft bridge over the Saryu river has no pedestrian track.

The driver apparently saw the pilgrims on the track, but a railway official said by then it was too late.

“The driver applied brakes, but was not able to stop the train in time,” said Ashima Singh, a senior railway official.

After the accident, protesters set railway kiosks on fire and demanded compensation for the victims’ families.