The death toll from a collision between two trains in Shandong continues to rise. So far the certified dead are 66 people, but among the over 400 receiving hospital treatment at least 247 are seriously wounded and 70 in critical conditions.
The collision took place at 4.43 am (local time) in Zibo (Shandong) between a train directed from Beijing towards Qingdao and a second travelling from Yantai towards Xuzhou (Jiangsu). The two trains were travelling at full speed when the Beijing train derailed on broken tracks. The exact mechanics of the accident have yet to be ascertained.
State television confirmed that the railway had been built in 1897 and should have been substituted with high speed in time for the Olympics, in order to facilitate the arrival of tourists to a marine area, where they Games will be held.
The government of Zibo has sent a squadron of 1500 men to the scene of the accident in order to aid survivors and help with the relief efforts. Liu Zhijun, minister for Railways has arrived at the accident site, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Zhang Dejiang.
Last January, also in Shandong, a high speed train crashed into a group of workers who were working on track maintenance, leaving 18 dead.
Today’s accident is the worst train disaster to hit China since 1997, when more that 100 people were killed in a train collision in Hunan province.
Location of Shandong within China.
Two trains collided in Shandong, China 4:41am local time on Monday killing at least 71 people and injuring over 400, including four French citizens. It is still not known exactly how many people were on either of the trains.

The collision occurred in Zibo when one of the trains traveling from Beijing to Qingdao jumped tracks and collided head on with a train traveling in the opposite direction from Yantai to Xuzhou. Both of the trains are reported to have been traveling at their maximum speeds when they collided.

"It toppled 90 degrees to one side and then all the way to the other side. When it finally went off the tracks, many people fell on me and hot water poured out of their thermos flasks," said Zhang, a passenger, to Xinhua.
 
The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but reports say that the tracks were broken under the train traveling from Beijing. The tracks are said to have been built in 1897.

Jinan Railway Bureau officials Chen Gong and  Chai Tiemin  have been fired after the accident.  The two top officials who were the former director and former Communist Party chief, respectively, will face an investigation by the Ministry of Railways. 

Four Frenchmen were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. Authorities named them as Pascal Boisson, 54, his son Pierre Emmanuel Boisson, 14, his daughter Joanne Boisson, 22, and his girlfriend Robin Naurence, 42. No foreigners were killed in the accident, officials said.