A French woman who suffered a broken thigh in Monday's train crash in east China could undergo an operation this week, doctors with a local hospital confirmed.

The hospital in Zichuan District of Zibo City, Shandong Province, is waiting for a team of specialists from Beijing to hold a joint consultation on Robin Naurence later on Tuesday.

The 42-year-old was one of four French nationals injured in the deadliest China train crash in a decade. She suffered a fracture to her right thigh and may need an operation in a few days.

"We have used traction and other therapy to ease her pain. She's in stable condition," said Sun Lanfang, the hospital vice president. "We're coordinating with the foreign affairs authorities to see whether the operation should be carried out in Zibo or elsewhere."

Naurence was traveling with her boyfriend, 54-year-old Pascal Boisson, and his son and daughter to Qingdao.

Boisson was hospitalized in Zibo Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital with his 22-year-old daughter Joanne. His son, Pierre Emmanuel, 14, was at Zibo No. 1 Hospital.

"The father and Naurence suffered bone injuries, and it would be difficult to move them around. But we're trying to bring the family together," said Liang Minglai, Zibo Traditional Chinese Medicine Hospital president.

"It was chaotic when they were rescued. Nobody knew they were together," he said. "I was very concerned about the patients. I went to see Joanne and her father as soon as they were taken in."

"We contacted Joanne's brother and Naurence soon afterwards. I remembered they spoke on the phone late Monday morning."

Liang said Joanne, who suffered a slight back injury, had gone to visit her brother.

The father was also recovering but his broken ribs still ached when he talked or laughed, a nurse told Xinhua.

A high-speed train from Beijing to Qingdao derailed in Zibo at about 4:40 a.m. on Monday and smashed into a train running from Yantai to Xuzhou in Jiangsu Province, causing the latter to veer off its tracks. At least 12 cars from the two trains derailed.

The accident killed 70 and injured 416.

A preliminary investigation suggested the train from Beijing was running at 131 kilometers per hour at the time of the accident, while the speed limit of that section was 80 kph. It happened just three days before the May Day holiday, when millions of Chinese holidaymakers will travel by train.

(Xinhua News Agency April 29, 2008)