At least 12 children have been killed after a train crashed into their school bus at an unmanned railway crossing in Medak district of Telangana this morning. The bus driver was also killed.<br /><br />The bus, carrying some 40 children of the Kakatiya School in the district 100 km from Hyderabad, was at a crossing in Masaipet village when it was hit by the train. Witnesses say the bus was dragged for some distance. <br /><br />Police officer Ravi Nallamala says 16 children aged 7 to14 have been injured in the accident and hospitalized.<br /><br />Schoolbags and water-bottles lay scattered by the wrecked bus as rescue workers tried to pull out children.<br /><br />The police believe the driver tried to cross the track despite warnings of a train arriving.<br /><br />The accident has sparked anger among local people, who say they have been asking for gates to secure the railway crossing.<br /><br />Chief Minister K Chandrasekhara Rao has ordered an inquiry and is believed to be on his way to the site.<br /><br />About 15,000 people are killed each year while crossing the tracks on India's vast but decrepit railway network, according to a government safety panel. Two years ago, it recommended that more bridges and overpasses be built at the earliest.
