Driver beaten unconscious after train kills 35 pilgrims

At least 35 people were killed when a train hit pilgrims crossing a railway line in eastern India this morning.

Angry bystanders then beat the train driver unconscious and torched one of the carriages, local officials said.

Arunendra Kumar, chairman of the Railway Board, told reporters that some of those hit by the express train were Hindu pilgrims who had left two trains at Dhamara station, 110 miles east of Patna, the capital of Bihar state.

"We are yet to find out the total number of dead bodies because the bodies are badly severed and that is causing difficulty in the head count. Also a lot of people have gathered over there," police director S.K. Bhardwaj said.

About 40 people die every day on India's vast but ageing rail network.