Punjab CM Amarinder Singh says train accident takes 59 lives

India's northern state of Punjab's chief minister said 59 people were killed and 57 injured in a railway accident on Friday in which a train ran over scores of people gathered on the railway tracks for a festival in the city of Amritsar.

India's northern state of Punjab's chief minister said 59 people were killed and 57 injured in a railway accident on Friday in which a train ran over scores of people gathered on the railway tracks for a festival in the city of Amritsar.

Declining to comment on the likely reasons behind the accident, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh told reporters on Saturday that an official inquiry into the accident was underway and was expected to be completed within four weeks.

A large crowd had formed near the tracks on the city's fringe for the burning of effigies as part of a major Hindu festival on Friday when the train sped through the gathering in darkness, officials and witnesses said.

(With inputs from agencies.)