ZIBO, China — At least 70 people were killed when two passenger trains collided near the east China city of Zibo, located in the Shandong province, authorities said.
Hundreds more were injured — included dozens in serious condition — in the pre-dawn train wreck, said to be the worst in China in more than a decade. Some authorities indicated the death toll could rise.
The wreck occurred when an express train traveling to the east China city of Qingdao from Beijing derailed and crashed into a second train, which was traveling from Yantai in the Shandong province to the Jiangsu province city of Xuzhou, authorities said. The two trains were traveling at full speed at the time of the crash.
Human error — and not terrorism — was blamed for the wreck. Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang was sent to the crash site to direct rescue efforts.
The wreck is the worst in China since 1997. During the 1997 wreck in the central province of Hunan, more than 100 people were killed, according to media reports.
— Railfanning.org News Wire
