- Title: CHINA: Rescue work continues at site of high speed train crash
- Date: 25th July 2011
- Summary: WOMAN CRYING WOMAN FLIPPING THROUGH LISTS OF INJURED PEOPLE PEOPLE LOOKING AT NOTICE BOARD LISTING INJURED PEOPLE AND WHICH HOSPITALS THEY ARE HOUSED IN INFORMATION BOARD SHOWING NAMES AND VARIOUS INJURIES OF PEOPLE
- Embargoed: 9th August 2011 13:00
- Keywords:
- Location: China, China
- Country: China
- Topics: Disasters,Transport
- Reuters ID: LVA8QFGGV2K7EEOIA87NO0OHONSK
- Story Text: Rescue workers dug through the tangled wreckage of two trains that crashed in eastern China late Saturday (July 23), killing at least 35 and injuring 210 in China's deadliest train disaster since 2008.
The accident occurred on a bridge near Wenzhou of Zhejiang Province when a high-speed train smashed into a stalled bullet train which lost power due to a lightning strike, according to Chinese official Xinhua News Agency.
Two foreigners were among the 35 dead, Xinhua reported citing the provincial emergency office. No details were immediately available on the dead foreigners.
Rescuers said they were still searching for survivors and trying to clear debris from the railway.
"The task for us now is to clear the debris and also to check for survivors in those areas that we have not gone to," said 35-year-old rescue worker, Wang Jun.
"Right now, we still don't know whether there are any more survivors. Those are our main tasks now. Also, we are trying to get the railway line to be operational again," he said.
Dozens of rescue workers and firefighters used excavators to move the wreckage of the two trains.
They said more bodies were believed to be in the carriage dangling below the bridge.
Thirty-two-year-old survivor, Yin Caohui, recalled the moments of the crash.
"Suddenly, there was a loud bang. After that, the train broke. It was all dark and we could not see anything. Then there were a few loud sounds again. At first, I was not scared because I thought it was a minor accident like when cars just scratch each other. After I got down, then I realised how scary it was," he said.
A 31-year-old survivor, who gave his last name as Yu, said he didn't realized how badly the accident was until he got off the train.
"At first there was an emergency braking by the train and the lights immediately went off. Also, we didn't think it was so serious, maybe it was a minor accident or derailment. Only when we got down, did we see that there were so many train carriages that had fallen down," he said.
Chinese authorities suspended 21 trains after the collision, Xinhua said, citing sources with the railway station in the provincial capital Hangzhou.
Rail remains the most popular method of transport in China and China's trains are usually extremely crowded, with long-distance trains carrying as many as 1,000 passengers.
The government has spent billions of dollars improving the railway network of the world's most populous country and has said it plans to spend 120 billion US dollars a year for several years on railway construction.
But the vast network has been hit by a series of scandals in addition to the safety incidents of the past few months. Three railway officials have been investigated for corruption so far this year, according to local media reports.
China's last major train disaster was in 2008, when an express train travelling from Beijing to the eastern coastal city of Qingdao derailed and collided with another train, killing 72 and injuring 416 people. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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