Calling the rail accident in West Bengal as "very unfortunate", the Congress said the ministry of railway and the state administration should take the incident seriously.

The Congress also said that all possible steps should be taken to prevent recurrence of such mishaps.

Congress spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said, "The railway authorities and state government should take serious note of the incident and take all possible steps to see that such incidents do not happen again."

Ahmed said that the incident was very unfortunate and those accountable for the accident should be taken to task.

"We condemn the incident. Innocent people have lost their lives. Our heart goes out to the bereaved families," he said.

Asked about BJP raising questions over "limited mandate" remarks of Home Minister P. Chidambaram and talking about disparities in the Congress on the ways to fight Maoists, Ahmed answered that the saffron party was playing politics at a time of big tragedy and making attempts to create a wedge between different wings of government.

"It's unbecoming of a responsible political party," he said.

Around 65 people lost their lives and more than 200 injured early Friday when a Mumbai-bound passenger train derailed and was hit by a speeding goods train in West Bengal's West Midnapore region. (With Inputs from Agencies)