Sailing team coach, 3-year-old among China train crash victims

JINAN, April 28 (Xinhua) -- A coach of the Chinese sailing team and a preschooler were among the victims of Monday's deadly train crash, which has claimed 70 lives and injured more than 400 people, a doctor with a local hospital said.

Zhang Jun, director of the orthopedics department at Zibo Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital, told Xinhua in a telephone interview that the hospital had admitted 21 patients and at least three were critically injured.

"One of them, a 36-year-old man, has very serious head injuries. We have performed two surgeries on him, but he is not out of danger yet," he said.

Another critically-injured man, Hu Weidong, a coach of China's national sailing team, was also brought to the hospital but was quickly transferred to Qianfoshan Hospital in the provincial capital, Jinan, Zhang said.

"He didn't lose consciousness, but there were grave injuries to his neck and spine, which we fear could cause paralysis," he added.

Hu was on the train headed to Qingdao, a co-host city of the Beijing Olympics.

Zhang said that a 3-year-old boy, Liu Jinhang, probably the youngest injured in the accident, is also in the hospital. "He suffered a broken arm, which has been plastered. He is in stable condition now," said Zhang.

"We are getting more beds ready in case any more patients are brought in or transferred. It's been a hectic day," he said.

The deadly accident occurred at Zibo, Shandong Province at around 4:40 a.m. when a train bound from Beijing to Qingdao jumped the track and hit another train headed from Xuzhou to Yantai.