Nine railway workers were killed in northwest China on Friday after they stepped into the path of a train, state media reported.

About 50 workers were doing maintenance on a closed section of a line in Jinchang city when some of them walked onto an open track as the train approached, according to broadcaster CCTV.

The railway department has expressed its condolences and pledged to investigate how the accident occurred.

The incident has sparked outrage online and a hashtag attracted over 100 million hits on microblogging platform Weibo, as users questioned if safety measures were in place.

Deadly industrial accidents are common in China, where safety regulations are often poorly enforced.