A woman was killed by a train at a railroad crossing near Wudaokou, Haidian district, Sunday as she ran across the tracks after the gates had closed. 

Witnesses, who live nearby, said that despite this and other fatal accidents, people still continue to cross the lines, putting their lives in danger.

According to a female witness surnamed Zhao, a middle-aged looking woman tried to cross the tracks after the alarm sounded at around 7:30 am.

"Then I heard the great noise of the train braking," she said.

"The train stopped tens of meters away from where the woman was knocked down. The drivers got out to see the woman, who was already lying dead under the wheels," Zhao alleged. 

Liu Ruoqing, a student from Tsinghua University, arrived at the scene around 8 am, when emergency services were already present.

"Her body was smashed and bloody and her right leg was gone," he said.

The victim's body lay there for about two hours until a hearse arrived and took it away, Zhao said.

In 2005, one girl was killed in May, and two students died four months later while crossing at the same point, the Beijing News reported.

A media officer from the Beijing Railway Bureau, who refused to give his name, told the Global Times that it is public safety awareness that needs to be improved, not safety standards at railroad crossings, which are good enough. 

"If people insist in looking for death, then there's nothing we can do about it," he said.

Liu agreed that people being irresponsible may be more at fault.

"It's common for people to cross the railroad tracks here when the alarm is on," he said, "I think it's way too worthless to risk their lives to save this small amount of time."