A cargo train came off the tracks in southwest China's Yunnan Province early Monday, destroying several houses and burying six people, local authorities said.

The accident occurred at around 6:30 a.m. in Qujing, said sources with the city's railway and public security bureaus.

Witnesses said the 17-car train went out of control after leaving Geyitou station in Xuanwei, and sped along the line linking Yunnan's provincial capital, Kunming, with Guiyang, in neighboring Guizhou Province. Several cars broke off and derailed along the way.

Railway workers at the next station, in Xuanwei county, redirected the train on to an emergency line that passes along Longhua section, hoping the train would slow down and brake before crashing into other trains.

Rescue work is continuing.

(Xinhua News Agency February 4, 2008)