Two passenger trains collided in central China Monday morning, leaving at least three people dead and 60 injured. [Photo: CFP]

"I didn't know how deep it could be, but I jumped with my classmates," she said.

They waited outside for about ten minutes before an ambulance arrived to take them to a local hospital.

A freshman from the Hunan Mass Media Vocational Technical College who only gave his surname as Xie was sitting on a seat in the fourth car at that time.

"Suddenly a massive force pushed me to the floor," he said.

Then the train went dark and the roof was ripped open.

"People were crying and screaming," he said. "Someone stepped on me to pass."

The 64-year-old Mao Yiyou from Shaoshan village was on his way to visit his daughter in Guangdong. He suffered head trauma and one of his eyes was bleeding, but he managed to remain conscious.

"I was like a stone ejected out of the train when the accident happened," he said.

"When I fell on the ground, I felt for my body, and there was blood everywhere," he said.

But at that time Mao didn't feel hurt. He was numb.

During interviews with Xinhua reporters, many passengers who suffered slight injuries said they wanted to get their luggage back as soon as possible and return home safely.

"Our mobile phones are in our bags and it was dark when the accident happened so we had no chance to get the phones. We have lost contact with our relatives, who must be worried about us," Xie said.

Forty-four, or most of the injured passengers, are being treated at the No. 4 People's Hospital nearby.

According to Chen Jinglin, vice president of the hospital, more than 130 doctors and nurses were busy tending the patients, two of whom are in critical condition.

"The injured mainly suffered fractures, brain traumas, belly injuries or contusions," he said. More than 30 volunteers in red caps are helping the nurses to take care of the injured as their relatives had not arrived.

Electricity supply at the station was also cut, rescuers said, giving no information about when it would be resumed.

Services in one direction of the rail line resumed at 10 a.m. and the other resumed at 2:30 p.m., said the official.

Thousands of passengers had been stranded in Chenzhou Railway Station. More than 50 buses had been sent to transport them to their destinations.

As of midday, almost 1,000 passengers had been transported by 26 buses to Guangdong Province, the official said.