Indian Police has confirmed the death of 13 children whose school van collided with a train at an unmanned railway crossing in the northern part of the country this morning.

Area police officer, Ramkrishna Tiwari, said the driver of the bus was also killed in the crash, which took place near the town of Kushinagar in Uttar Pradesh state.

He said the dead children were all under the age of 10. Six more children who were injured in the accident were rushed to a nearby hospital. 

The death toll could rise as the condition of some of the children was said to be critical.  Police blamed the driver for the accident.   

State authorities have ordered an investigation while Indian leaders offered their condolences to the families of the victims.   

Recall that, this will be the second deadly incident involving a school bus this month. Twenty-seven people, including 23 children, died on April 9 when a school bus fell into a gorge in the northern state of Himachal Pradesh.