WENZHOU, Zhejiang - The death toll from the train collision this past Saturday rose to 40 following the death of a critically injured passenger, local authorities said on Friday.

Chen Wei, who hailed from Fujian province, died at about 10:45 pm on Thursday night at the Wenzhou No 2 People's Hospital.

The victim's brother, Chen Hao, told China Daily on Thursday evening that his sibling had been the pillar of the family.

"My brother made large financial contributions to the family," Chen Hao said. "Without him, life will be totally different."

Chen Hao said he will do all he can to support his 69-year-old father and 62-year-old mother.

Chen Wei was aboard a bullet train that ran into the rear end of another train that had stalled on rail lines in Wenzhou, which caused the coach he sat in to be severely damaged.

He was going home to celebrate his father's 69th birthday.

"My brother's wife and I took a taxi and rushed to Wenzhou overnight," his brother said. "When we arrived at the hospital, we were told that my brother was brain dead, and that his life was being maintained only through the use of drugs and ventilators."

Chen Wei's wife, Liu Changlan, spoke to him not long before the crash.

"He called me when he was on the train to ask me to prepare a good meal and wait for him for dinner," she said.

Chen Wei, along with Chen Hao, had run a factory making cardboard packages in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province.

"I will take over his responsibilities and support the entire family," Chen Hao said.

By Friday, the tragedy had claimed the lives of 40 of the passengers who had been on one or the other of the trains that collided. Among the victims were four children and three holders of foreign passports. Relatives of two of the female victims have said those women were pregnant.