At least nine people were killed and 36 injured after a passenger train derailed in the Indian state of West Bengal. The tragedy happened late last night.

Indian Railways spokesman Rajesh Bajpai said four of the 12 carriages of the Interstate Express derailed in the Jalpaiguri area.

According to preliminary data, a crack has formed on the tracks.

Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee said that all the victims will be provided with all necessary medical assistance.

It is worth noting that such accidents in India occur quite often – the reason for this is the aging of the railway infrastructure and poor maintenance.

Nearly 12,000 people died in more than 13,000 rail accidents across the country in 2020, according to a National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report.

One of the deadliest incidents in recent years occurred in November 2016, when more than 140 people were killed in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh when multiple train cars derailed.

In November 2017, at least 39 people died and another 50 were seriously injured in a train derailment in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.