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More than 30 people died on Thursday and 37 were injured when a train slammed into a packed bus carrying a marriage party in northern India, local government officials said.

The accident took place in the middle of the night at an unmanned crossing in a remote area of Kanshiram Nagar district in Uttar Pradesh state, about 300 kilometers northwest of the state capital Lucknow.

District Magistrate Selva Kumari said that she suspected the driver might have been under the influence of alcohol as he drove the private vehicle with about 70 people on board.

"We suspect that the driver was drunk after the wedding party and thought he would be able to make it across the crossing before the train hit the tail of the bus, smashing it to pieces," she said.

A total of 33 people were killed and 37 were injured, including the driver, and three of them are in a critical state, she said. The passengers were mostly the groom's relatives and friends returning from a late-night marriage ceremony.

The bride and groom were reportedly following behind in a jeep and were unhurt.

NDTV network broadcast footage from the scene, showing debris strewn across the tracks and police officers carrying bodies covered with sheets on stretchers.

India's state-run railway system - still the main form of long-distance travel despite fierce competition from new private airlines - carries 18.5 million people daily.

There are hundreds of safety incidents on the railways annually, but this was the deadliest accident so far this year.

Attempts to stop people riding on the roofs of trains have largely failed, vehicles routinely drive around barriers at crossings, and passengers are often seen hanging out of open doors in the carriages.

The office of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced compensation, with 200,000 rupees ($4,500) for the families of the deceased and 50,000 rupees for the injured.

In May last year, nearly 150 people were killed when a Mumbai-bound high-speed passenger express from Kolkata veered off the tracks into the path of an oncoming freight train after the track had apparently been sabotaged. In July 2010, more than 60 people were killed and 165 injured when a speeding express rammed into the back of a stationary passenger train in the eastern state of West Bengal.

（中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.