One railway worker was killed and a cargo train driver was seriously injured when the train derailed after being hit by falling mountain rocks on Sunday morning in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

The train driver has been hospitalized and was still in danger, according to an official with the Chengdu railway administration. The accident happened at around 2:40 a.m. on Sunday at the Jintang County, more than 80 kilometers northeast of Chengdu. The train's locomotive and following 10 cargo cars derailed.

The official who declined to give his name said continuous rains recently has led to the falling of the mountain rocks.

"But we have no idea if the rocks falling is related with the earthquake in Sichuan in May or its aftershocks," he said.

The accident led to the closure of the 386-kilometer railway section between Dazhou in northeast Sichuan and Chengdu, the provincial capital.

The service of 11 passenger trains linking Chengdu, respectively, with Chongqing, Nanchong, Dazhou and Wanzhou were suspended, and trains to Beijing via Chengdu were asked to use the Chengdu-Chongqing railway line, according to the Chengdu Railway Station.

The Chengdu railway administration has sent task forces to clear the site and repair the deformed rails. "The railway is expected to resume operation in at least another day," said the official.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2008)