At least 60 people have been killed and a further 120 injured in a train crash in the Indian state of West Bengal.

The accident happened when a speeding passenger express hit a stationary train waiting at a station in the town of Sainthia.

The impact sent the roof of a coach into a footbridge above the tracks. A number of trapped passengers were freed from the wreckage by emergency workers using gas cutters and other tools.

The cause of the crash has yet to be established but there is speculation that it may have been caused by faulty signalling.

This was the second major railway accident in West Bengal this year. In May, nearly 150 people died when a Bombay-bound passenger train derailed and was hit by a goods train.

One witness described accident to the BBC: “At the station my train was just about to pull out when I heard a big scream, someone screaming, ‘There’s going to be a crash,’” said the man.

“So I clung on to a bar by my feet. Then there was a massive bang. Most of the people in my carriage died in front of me.”

Officials believe that the trains were packed with commuters heading back to work after spending a weekend with their families.

Rescuers recovered 56 bodies from the crash scene, and 125 people were confirmed to have been injured, according to police officials. The two drivers of the Uttarbanga express were among the dead.

Accidents are common on India’s sprawling rail network, one of the world’s largest, with most blamed on poor maintenance.