Bad weather has caused a crash between a bus and a passenger train that led to the killing of at least 17 people including six school children. Another 15 people were injured as the bus crashed into the train in the state of Punjab, northern India.

According to the official report the accident took place Friday in the central district of Moga, about 200 kilometers west of state capital Chandigarh.

The bus smashed into the gate of the railway crossing and collided with the passenger train – the Sutlej Express.

"Seventeen people were killed after the private mini-bus carrying school and college students as well as teachers, hit the train," Jaspal Singh, a district police officer said.

"Fifteen others were injured, 10 of them seriously, and were admitted to various hospitals in Moga," he added.

All the victims were passengers of the bus. Those traveling with the train weren’t among the hurt.

The report of the NDTV network showed that among the dead there were six school children. The police personnel investigating the case haven’t released any details regarding the number of adults and children killed.

The death toll of the accident is most likely to rise as the doctors working in the hospital that received the injured for treatment said several of them are in critical condition.

The responsibility for the terrible incident seems fall on the driver’s shoulders. At least this is what the railway authorities stated.

"It was a manned level crossing and its gate was closed for the passage of the train," Sri Prakash, general manager of India's Northern Railway told reporters.

"The driver was at fault as he could not see the gate because of low visibility due to heavy fog and crashed the vehicle into the Sutlej Express," he added.

The witnesses on the other hand said that the gate was n fact open, thus making the negligence of the railway the cause of the crash.

The first round of investigations showed that the cause might be the dense fog, but both the police and the railways have initiated investigations to find out the exact cause of the impact.