Six people were sentenced to prison Thursday in a first instance trial for a fatal train crash that killed 72 and injured 416 passengers last April in east China's Shandong Province.

The convicts include Guo Jiguang, former deputy head of Jinan Railway Bureau, and five railway workers -- Li Zhenjiang, Cui Heguang, Zhang Fasheng, Pu Xiaojun and Zheng Richeng, according to the Qingdao Rail Transport Court.

The six, detained May last year, were sentenced to six months to four years in prison for breaking railway operation rules and causing grave consequences, the court verdict said.

Penalties for such negligence leading to death, serious injuries and heavy losses of public or private properties may carry a jail term of three to seven years, according to China's criminal code.

T195, a high-speed train from Beijing to the coastal city of Qingdao, derailed and crashed into another train in Zibo's Zhoucun District on April 28, 2008, leaving 72 dead and another 416 injured.

The accident was the worst in China's railway system in a decade.

Investigators said the train was traveling at a speed much higher than the speed limit on that section of the track, partly because the driver had not been informed of the speed limit.