The Ministry of Railways (MOR) on Tuesday ordered two subordinate bureaus in eastern Jiangxi Province and Shanghai Municipality to investigate a brawl that killed one train passenger.

The fight occurred on train K256 at about 22:45 Sunday when the train stopped at Longnan Station located in the city of Ganzhou of Jiangxi.

Three off-duty railway workers fought with on-duty train staff over a seat dispute that resulted in one worker's death.

A witness surnamed Lai said the middle-aged worker who was killed had been trying to break up the argument when he was attacked. He was later taken to a hospital around midnight but died from his injuries.

The MOR ordered the two bureaus to launch a detailed investigation into the death and severely punish those responsible in accordance with the law.