In a terrible collision between two passenger trains in the eastern province of China, nearly 45 people are reported dead and more than 250 people are injured according to news agencies. The accident occurred in early hours of Monday, April 28, 2008 in the Shandong province. Heavy causalities have been reported by the government agencies as well and 51 people are reported to be in critical state. 

Monday’s accident is believed to be the worst accident in China since 1997, when more than 100 people died in a train crash in the central province of Hunan. One of the passenger train was en route from Beijing to the eastern city of Qingado, while the other train was traveling between Yantai and Xuzhou, when the trains collided in Zibo, Shandong province.  

President Hu Jintao has already sent Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang and Railway Minister Liu Zhijun at the accident site. Both the trains were reported to be operating at full speed when the collision happened. Ten carriages of the train toppled into the ditch in the pre-dawn clash. Due to the high intensity of the attack rail journey in the area have been disrupted.