BANGALORE, Dec 21: At least 20 passengers were killed and 90 injured on Saturday after an express train derailed in southern India.

The train, bound for Bangalore from Hyderabad, derailed in the Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh state.

Ten bodies were recovered from one carriage alone, he said, adding that 90 people had been injured, some of them seriously.

Railway Minister Nitish Kumar earlier said at least 18 people had died.

Officials said the death toll could rise since two of the affected coaches were still to be cut open.

Nine carriages of the train rolled over and two came off the track completely when the train was moving around 80 to 100 kilometres an hour, officials said.

The Bangalore express had left Kachiguda station, in Hyderabad, at 7pm on Friday and most of the passengers had settled down for the night and were asleep when the accident happened.-AFP