- Title: CHINA: Relatives of train crash victims mourn over tragedy
- Date: 30th July 2011
- Summary: WENZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA (JULY 29, 2011) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF MORGUE BANNER READING: "MOURNING THE DEATHS OF THE VICTIMS OF THE JULY 23 TRAIN CRASH" MAN CARRYING WOMAN CARPARK OF MORGUE MORE OF MAN CARRYING WOMAN MOTHER BEING CARRIED INTO CAR PEOPLE WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 40-YEAR-OLD WIFE OF VICTIM LIU CANLAN, SAYING: "I kept calling out to him but there was no answer. He just left us, a wife and son, like this. How could this happen? How could that high-speed train be so lousy? It's like a tiger that just ate people up." FAMILY MEMBERS OF VICTIMS CRYING AT ENTRANCE OF MORGUE VARIOUS OF RELATIVES OF VICTIMS CRYING REPORTERS INTERVIEWING 43-YEAR-OLD AUNT OF VICTIM ZHANG MEILAN (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) 43-YEAR-OLD AUNT OF VICTIM ZHANG MEILAN, SAYING: "Everything that the government leaders have told us has been very good, and of course we thank them very much. But the main thing for us is the response from the railway department and how they will help the families of the victims deal with this problem. Today, the district office told us that if we do not sign (on the compensation agreement), they are going to leave. They said if we want to wait, we can wait here but they would not care about us. What kind of reasoning is this?" BEIJING, CHINA (JULY 29, 2011) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF BEIJING INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND CHINA ISSUES HU XINGDOU WALKING (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) BEIJING INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND CHINA ISSUES HU XINGDOU, SAYING: "It seems that all the explanation and investigation until now have been conducted in order to distract the public's focus and ease the responsibility that the Chinese Railway Ministry should take. I think an independent investigation team or committee is seriously needed here." WENZHOU, ZHEJIANG PROVINCE, CHINA (JULY 29, 2011) (REUTERS) HIGH-SPEED TRAIN PASSING TRAIN CRASH SITE "DANGER" SIGN BESIDE SITE WOMAN PLACING FLOWERS AT CRASH SITE FLOWERS AT SITE AND WOMAN LEAVING MORE OF FLOWERS AT CRASH SITE BEIJING, CHINA (JULY 29, 2011) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (Mandarin) BEIJING INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS AND CHINA ISSUES HU XINGDOU, SAYING: "Some government departments and local government have been telling lies for a long time. They deal with things under the table and refuse to make their administration transparent to citizens. It is extremely difficult for the general public to pursue the truth, and if it continues this way, the government will lose almost all of its credibility."
- Embargoed: 14th August 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China, Aland Islands, China
- City:
- Country: China Aland Islands
- Topics: Accidents,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVAABYOT00956M52D3Z36VDWBQG
- Story Text: Grieving families of the victims of China's high speed train crash laid to rest their loved ones on Friday (July 29).
The July 23 train crash that killed at least 40 people in eastern China fuelled a rare outpouring of public anger.
A high-speed train rammed into a stalled train late on Saturday (July 23), injuring at least 191 people in China's worst railway accident since 2008.
Families gathered at a local morgue on Friday for cremation rites, while others paid their respects to the dead on the seventh day of mourning, according to a Chinese tradition.
Emotions overwhelmed many, a mother who lost her teenage son fainted after the cremation rites.
40 year-old Liu Canlan (pron: liew tsan-lan), paying respects to her late husband, 42-year old Chen Wei, said she spoke to him last on phone when he was still on the train. He had promised to be home for dinner on Friday (July 23).
"I kept calling out to him but there was no answer. He just left us, a wife and son, like this. How could this happen? How could that high-speed train be so lousy? It's like a tiger that just ate people up," Liu Canlan said.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited the crash site in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province on Thursday July 28, and promised a thorough investigation into the accident, in a bid to quell public outrage.
The Chinese people accused officials of trying to cover up details of the accident, and stifling media coverage to protect an ambitious rail expansion plan and the Communist Party's image of unruffled control.
A Chinese railway research institute took responsibility on Thursday (July 28) for a flaw in signalling equipment that led to accident and made a public apology.
The state-run Xinhua news agency, quoting railway authorities, said a signal that should have turned red after lightning stalled a train, remained green, but railway staff failed to notice the signal failure, causing the crash.
43 year-old Zhang Meilan, who lost her niece, was at the morgue with the girl's family for her last rites. She said the family was asked to sign a compensation agreement by the end of Friday, but not given details of the compensation, so they had refused it.
"Everything that the government leaders have told us has been very good, and of course we thank them very much. But the main thing for us is the response from the railways department and how they will help the families of the victims deal with this problem. Today, the district office told us that if we do not sign (on the compensation agreement), they are going to leave. They said if we want to wait, we can wait here but they would not care about us. What kind of reasoning is this?" she said.
Hu Xingdou (pron: hoo shing-doh), activist and economist at the Beijing Institute of Technology, joined others in demanding a thorough independent investigation.
"It seems that all the explanation and investigation until now have been conducted in order to distract the public's focus and ease the responsibility that the Chinese Railway Ministry should take. I think an independent investigation team or committee is seriously needed here," he said.
Local residents laid flowers and wreaths in the shadow of the railway bridge where the crash happened.
Hu said the way the authorities had dealt with the issue was symptomatic of a wider trend of official corruption and a lack of accountability.
"Some government departments and local governments have been telling lies for a long time. They deal with things under the table and refuse to make their administration transparent to citizens. It is extremely difficult for the general public to pursue the truth, and as it continues this way, the government loses almost all of its credibility," he said.
The Railway Ministry is still investigating the cause of the accident, and has ordered a two-month safety review of railway operations.
The official Xinhua news agency reported the results of the accident probe would be released by mid-September. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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