At least 28 people were killed Monday and eight others were injured after they were hit by an express train as they were getting off a local passenger train at a station in eastern India, authorities said.

People at the station reacted furiously, setting the express train on fire, Amitav Prabhakar, a spokesman for East Central Railway, told reporters. He said railway officials were hiding from the angry crowd amid the tense situation.

The collision took place around 9:15 a.m. Monday at Dhamara station in the eastern state of Bihar, said Syed Parvez Alam, a senior local official who provided the approximate death toll.