At least 60 passengers were killed and 90 injured Monday when the speeding Sealdah-bound Uttarbanga Express rammed into the rear of the Vananchal Express pulling out of the Sainthia station in Birbhum district of West Bengal.

"A total of 60 persons, including three railway employees, have lost their lives in the accident when three rear coaches including one luggage van and two unreserved general second class coaches of the Vananchal Express were affected," an Eastern Railway release said.

Driver M. C. Dey and assistant driver N. K. Mandal of the Sealdah-bound Uttarbanga Express, which collided with the Ranchi- bound Vananchal Express, were among the dead in the accident for which railways are not ruling out sabotage as the cause.

The guard of the Vananchal Express A Mukherjee also died in the mishap which was so severe that the roof and the sides of one of the compartments mounted the road overbridge across the tracks in the station, 191 km from Kolkata, in Eastern Railway.

A part of another compartment of the Vananchal Express split and fell on the road along the tracks after being thrown over the bridge.

The accident occurred early Monday when the New Coochbehar- Sealdah Uttarbanga Express came on the same track and rammed into the Bhagalpur-Ranchi Vananchal Express which was leaving platform number four at Sainthia station.

Eastern Railway sources in Kolkata and Railway Board sources in Delhi said the Uttarbanga Express, which has a scheduled stop at Sainthia, was running at a high speed, overshot the signal and ploughed into the Vananchal Express.

The scheduled arrival and departure of Uttarbanga Express at Sainthia was 01:38 a.m. and 01:39 a.m. It was not clear why the train, which was to halt at the station, was at a high speed.

The engine of the Uttarbanga Express, which was to stop at the station, telescoped into the rear of the Vananchal Express. The affected bogies have been detached and the trains left for their destinations.

Though the railways were hesitant to come out with the reason for the accident, the second in two months in West Bengal after the Jyaneshwari Express disaster that claimed 148 lives, an apparent overshooting of the signal by the driver of the Uttarbanga Express could be the reason behind this.

However, Eastern Railway General Manager V N Tripathi Monday did not rule out sabotage, which Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee hinted this morning when she said "we have doubts about the cause of the accident, the second in West Bengal in two months".

The General Manager said the train was in speed and "what caused this we will have to find out. The driver is a very good driver and we are also puzzled".

Asked whether sabotage could be behind the accident, he said, " Possibly. Nothing could be ruled out".

The Railway Minister announced an ex-gratia payment of 500,000 rupees (10,000 U.S. dollars) each for the kin of the dead, 100,000 rupees for grievously injured and 25,000 rupees for the other injured.

Employment for one of the members of the victims' families will be given in railways, she said. Railways have ordered a probe by the Commissioner of Railway Safety.