Train crashes into trailer in western India, killing 52

NAGPUR, India -- A passenger train smashed into a trailer carrying wedding guests Thursday in western India, killing at least 52 people and injuring 10 others, a railway official and witnesses said.

The dead included 30 women and 10 children.

The accident occurred near Kanhan, a small town 500 miles northeast of Bombay, when a train bound for the central Indian city of Nagpur collided with a trailer being pulled by a tractor that was crossing the tracks, said Jagdish Kumar, deputy general manager of South-Eastern Central Railway. Kumar said the train was traveling at about 45 miles per hour, and that the driver applied the emergency brakes.

Sudarshan Shende, who works at a nearby school, said at least three vehicles full of wedding guests had climbed the slope that led to the crossing, when the last vehicle, the tractor pulling the trailer, drove up and stopped.

"They stopped for a while, and I could hear them arguing. Some wanted to cross; others wanted to wait. Then the driver decided to cross," Shende told The Associated Press. "The tractor crossed, but the train rammed into the trailer."

He said no one was injured on the train, which did not derail despite the impact.

Traffic was shut down on the track and passengers were moved to another train, officials said.

Train accidents are common in India, where poor safety standards plague the state-run rail network -- the world's third-largest after Russia and China.