China train mishap, a case of human error(lead: China train)

New Delhi, Apr.28 : A train collision in east China that killed at least 66 people early today was caused by human error and terrorism had been ruled out.

The official Xinhua news agency did not elaborate on the error behind the accident, which also injured about 250 and was the worst to hit China's railways in more than a decade.

Authorities have ruled out that the accident was caused by an act of terror, Xinhua said.

The trains collided on a main railway route in Zibo, in East China's Shandong Province at 4.43 a.m., Xinhua reported.

About 10 carriages toppled into a ditch, a witness told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.

The derailed train hit train 5034, which ran from Shandong's Yantai city to Xuzhou in the eastern Jiangsu Province, a spokesman with the Shandong provincial government confirmed.

Medical workers who are at the site for rescue work said heavy casualties were reported from both trains, but it was hard to make an immediate headcount.

The accident occurred in Hejiacun village, sandwiched between Zhoucun district and Wangcun railway station in the suburbs of Zibo, and about 70 kilometers east of the provincial capital Jinan.

The accident has disrupted two-way traffic on the Jinan-Qingdao Railway, a pivotal provincial rail link.

ANI