Oct. 21 (Bloomberg) -- At least 21 people were killed when an express train plowed into the back of another early today in the Indian town of Mathura near the capital, New Delhi, police said.

About 20 passengers were also injured in the accident that occurred at about 4:50 a.m. local time, B.D. Paulson, senior superintendent of police, said by phone from Mathura.

Railway police and soldiers used metal cutting equipment to free passengers trapped inside a crushed compartment, he said, adding the rescue operation was over.

The accident occurred about 98 miles (158 kilometers) south of New Delhi when the train from Goa, in southwest India, plowed into the back of the halted Mewar express, which originated in Udaipur, Rajasthan, Paulson said.

India’s 63,000-kilometer railway network, Asia’s oldest, carries about 15 million people each day on 11,000 passenger trains. The network also carries more than 1.4 million tons of freight daily.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jay Shankar in Bangalore at jshankar1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: October 21, 2009 02:56 EDT