Seventy die in Chinese train crash

At least 70 people have been killed and hundreds injured after two passenger trains collided in eastern China.

It is likely the death toll will rise, with some 400 people taken to hospital - 70 of whom are reported to be in a critical condition.

One train was en route from Beijing to the seaside resort of Qingdao when the accident happened in Zibo, Shandong province. The second train was from the resort of Yantai, in Shandong.

Both were likely to have been operating at full speed at the time of the accident, cargo worker said.

The accident happened at a bend in the tracks, causing the carriages to topple into a ditch.

Four of the injured were reported to be French nationals, all of whom were taken to hospital with bone fractures.

One passenger described escaping the wreckage with her 13-year-old daughter through a massive crack in the floor.

She said: "We were still sleeping when the accident occurred.

"I suddenly woke up when I felt the train stopped with a jolt. In a minute or two it started off again, but soon toppled."

State television said the rail line was built in 1897 and was due to be retired in favour of a high-speed link to be ready in time for the Summer Olympics, when Qingdao will host the sailing events.

Monday's accident was the worst in China since 1997, when more than 100 people were killed in a train crash in the central province of Hunan.

© Independent Television News Limited 2008. All rights reserved.