A cargo train derailed and caught on fire on Monday night in northwest China's Gansu Province after the rail was distorted by landslide caused by the Sichuan earthquake, an official said Tuesday morning.
The 40-carriage train, carrying 13 petrol tanks, derailed in Huixian County, Gansu Province, along the Baoji-Chengdu line. The locomotive caught fire first, then the 13 oil tanks buried by rocks were also ablaze, said a spokesman with the Longnan municipal government, the Xinhua news agency reported.
The line was closed after the accident.
The train's two drivers were injured and have been sent to hospital. More than 900 people living nearby were evacuated.
The train was still burning at 5 a.m. Tuesday and the oil tanks were likely to explode, forcing the withdrawal of fire fighters to six kilometer away.