At least 12 people were killed and five others seriously injured when a rail bridge collapsed as a goods train passed over it in India's north-eastern state of Assam on Monday, a news agency reported, according to dpa. The goods train with seven wagons and the bridge fell into the hilly Cachar district, PTI news agency reported quoting policeofficials. Apart from the engine driver, the victims were mostly locals who had travelled short distances illegally aboard the goods trains. However, the Indian Railways confirmed only six fatalities. Railway spokesman TK Rabha told the news agency that only six people were killed, but the death toll could rise as the accident had occurred in a remote area and information was slow to arrive. The Indian railway system is more than 150 years old and is in theprocess of upgrading its infrastructure, including colonialera bridges, century-old rail tracks and signalling systems.
