A passenger train crashed into a vehicle carrying local council officials at an unmanned rail crossing in southern India on Monday, killing 13 people in the van, The Press Trust of India (PTI) reported. The accident occurred in the Kancheepuram district of Tamil Nadu state, nearly 1600 kilometers from New Delhi. The vehicle was carrying a total of 23 people to Chennai, the state capital, to meet the state's top elected official, M. Karunanidhi, the news agency said. Some people were seriously injured in the accident and hospitalized, PTI added. -- SPA