BEIJING - China on Thursday offered its condolences to Argentina after a deadly train crash killed 49 people and injured over 600 others.

"China expresses its deep condolences to the victims of the accident and its heart-felt sympathies to their families and the wounded," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said at a regular press briefing Thursday afternoon.

A packed commuter train crashed into station buffers in Buenos Aires during rush hour on Wednesday morning. While investigations are ongoing, many have pointed to dysfunctional brakes as the cause of the nation's worst railway accident in three decades.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez has declared a two-day national mourning period, starting Thursday, for the victims.