A train collision in central China that left three people dead early Monday was caused by brake failure, said an official of operator of the trains involved on Tuesday.

The failure caused train K9017 from the provincial capital Changsha to Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, to collide with another train at Chenzhou station, Hunan Province.

It sped into a turning point and broke the rails, said Sun Jing, general manager of the Gaungzhou Railway Group, which operates the station and the two trains involved in the crash.

The train went through a red light at a speed of 55 kilometers per hour and collided with train K9063 traveling from Tongren, Guizhou Province, to Shenzhen, said Sun.

The impact drove both engines and a total of six carriages off the tracks, leaving three dead and 63 injured, including six seriously hurt, Sun said.

The Ministry of Railways had launched an investigation, but details would not be disclosed until it was complete, said Chen Hualan, director of the ministry's department of work safety.

Liang Jiakun, deputy director of the State Administration of Work Safety, arrived at site on late Monday and called for a thorough investigation in order to prevent such disasters recurring.

Liang called for all-out efforts to save the injured.

Source:Xinhua