12 killed in Howrah-Danapur train crash in India

1998 - Twelve people were killed and 47 injured when an express train jumped the rails in eastern India due to sabotage. Nine carriages of the train were derailed some 20km from the city of Patna in Bihar state. The dead included a child. Fifteen of the injured were critically ill in hospital. So far, five bodies have been identified. The derailment saw nine bogies of the Howrah-Danapur Express, including three air-conditioned and two Sleeper Class coaches, getting unhitched from the engine and knocked off the track and overturned as seven other compartments dragged on for 200 metres before coming to a halt. Eastern Railway spokesman S.K. Mishra said a fish plate was found removed while another was reported missing over a rail bridge.