The school van which was crushed by a train at an unmanned railway crossing in Mau (Press Trust of India photo)
Five young children were killed on Thursday when a train crashed into their school van at an unmanned railroad crossing in Uttar Pradesh.
At least 17 other children were injured in the early morning crash at Mau, around 200 km from state capital Lucknow.
The driver and conductor on the van, which was traveling with about 25 children, were also injured in the collision.
The police said visibility was poor because of dense fog and the passenger train crashed into the van.
Accidents are common on India's railroad network, one of the world's largest with 23 million people riding daily on about 11,000 passenger trains.
"We have 11,000 unmanned crossings. We have to make them safe," said Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu.