LUCKNOW: Five children were killed on Thursday when a school bus collided with a moving train at an unmanned railway crossing in northern India, local authorities said.

Another 13 people, including the driver, have been taken to hospital for treatment after the crash in Uttar Pradesh state.

“It was quite foggy in the morning when the incident took place,” district information officer Jitendra Pratap Singh told AFP.

“Five children have been killed and 13 others, including the driver, are injured. The injured are being treated in the district hospital.”

Media reports said there were more than 20 primary school children in the bus when it crashed.

India's roads are notoriously dangerous. Government figures show 166,506 people died in traffic accidents last year, with bad roads, speeding vehicles and poor driving among the contributing factors.