Bullet trains crash in China, 35 dead
Baku, July 25 (AZERTAC). A bullet train crashed into another high-speed train that had stalled after being struck by lightning in eastern China. The impact caused four carriages to fall off a viaduct and left at least 35 people dead, with 191 others injured, state media said.
It was the first derailment on China`s high-speed rail network since the country launched its bullet trains in 2007 with a top speed of 250 kilometers per hour, the China Daily reported. The first train was traveling south from the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou when it lost power in the lightning strike and was hit from behind by the second train in Wenzhou city at 8:27 p.m. Saturday, the official Xinhua News Agency said. The second train had left Beijing and both trains were destined for Fuzhou in eastern Fujian province.
A further 191 people were being treated at hospitals, said Hua, who gave only his surname, as is common with Chinese officials. A preliminary investigation by the Zhejiang provincial government showed that four coaches of the moving train fell off the viaduct, Xinhua said. The cars plunged about 20 to 30 meters from the elevated section of track, it said. The Wenzhou city government said more than 1,000 people participated in the rescue operation. About 1,500 passengers were taken to a middle school, and more than 500 residents had given blood by 9 a.m. Sunday after appeals from the local blood bank, which said many of the injured needed transfusions, CCTV reported.
The trains involved are "D" trains - first-generation bullet trains with an average speed of about 150 kilometers per hour and not as fast as the new Beijing-Shanghai line. China has spent billions of dollars and plans more massive spending to link the country with a high-speed rail network.
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