A truck that forced its way through a closed road crossing rammed into a freight train in northeast China on Monday, authorities said.

The accident left no casualties but a section of the railway was closed for 16 hours to clear the tracks of debris that could cause another accident.

Authorities in Shenyang said the truck, which was loaded with iron ore, careered through a crossing that links Jinzhou in Liaoning Province and Chengde in Hebei Province at 3:30 am on Monday.

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The truck did not stop even with the stop signal lighted up, causing it to crash into the guardrail and hit the middle of the passing cargo train.

The impact derailed the locomotive and 11 of its cars, an official with the Shenyang Railway Bureau said.

"Miraculously, no one from the freight train or the cargo truck was seriously injured during the accident," said the official.

Initial investigation also showed that the truck was carrying cargo beyond its load limit. Investigators said the truck was carrying 50 tonnes of iron ore even as its maximum cargo weight was only 34 tonnes.

It was not disclosed whether or not the driver of the truck was being held by authorities following the accident and what type of  charges will be filed against the driver for his demeanor that resulted to the derailment of the freight train.

The passenger journey was not interrupted even as the freight train was derailed because passenger trains used other tracks following the incident.

The accident occurred as Chinese railway authorities are gearing up for the expected surge of the number of Chinese people returning home to celebrate the Lunar New Year.

Tens of millions of people are expected to travel back home using China's railways, making the Lunar New Year the busiest season of the year for train travel.

TagsChina Train Accident