The death toll in the collision between the Guwahati-bound up Kanchenjunga Express and a mini-bus in West Bengal Friday evening was initially put at 30 as many of the seriously injured lying unconscious along the railway track were mistaken for dead, a Northeastern Frontier Railway spokesperson said Saturday.

"The manner in which the injured lay caused the railway rescuers to mistake them for dead, NF Railway headquarters spokesperson Leena Sarma told PTI.

"Only after being rushed to hospital were many declared alive by doctors. We then immediately revised the death toll to the actual figure of nine and injured to 41," Sarma said.

She said that the mini-bus was overcrowded far beyond its capacity of 55 persons, she said. No one in the train was injured.

The spokesperson said the railway was not liable to pay compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act.

The mini-bus carrying a marriage party collided with the Kanchenjunga Express at an unmanned level crossing in West Bengal's Uttar Dinajpur district Friday around 5.20 pm between the Surajkamal and Kanke railway stations, about 100 km from Jalpaiguri town.