Driver dead, 8 injured after passenger train derailment in China

A high-speed passenger train derails, leaving the driver dead and 8 injured in China, according to state broadcaster CCTV.

As the Guangzhou-bound train was about to enter a tunnel in Guizhou province, it rammed debris deposited on the tracks by a landslide, derailing two carriages and killing the driver, reported CCTV.

Of the eight injured, seven were passengers and one was a train staff member. All other 136 passengers were safe.

The Derailed Train is a Class D train service that travels at a slower speed than the nation’s fastest Class G high-speed trains.

Saturday morning’s crash happened over a long weekend that typically sees higher passenger flows as people take advantage of public holidays to travel between cities.

China’s railway network, with a route length of around 150,000 km, is the second largest in the world.