WENZHOU: Thirty-five people have been killed and another 210 injured after a high-speed train smashed into another train at about 8.30pm yesterday in east China’s Zhejiang Province, according to the provincial emergency office, Xinhua reported.
Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang has arrived at the site to direct rescue efforts and help with an investigation into the accident.
As of 9.30am today, 35 people have been confirmed dead, including two foreigners, the emergency office said in a statement.
The identities of 19 people who died in the accident have been confirmed.
The accident occurred late last night on a bridge near the city of Wenzhou. High-speed train D301 rear-ended bullet train D3115, which was stalled on the tracks after allegedly being hit by lightning.
Train D301 was heading from Beijing to the southeastern city of Fuzhou in Fujian Province, while train D3115 was running from Zhejiang’s capital city of Hangzhou to Fuzhou.
Meanwhile following the incident, more trains in China’s eastern Zhejiang Province and southeastern Fujian Province were being suspended sources with various railway stations said earlier today.
Twenty-three high-speed trains from Hangzhou, capital city of Zhejiang, were ordered to suspend operation. Also in Fuzhou, capital city of Fujian Province, a total of 26 high-speed trains that were bound for Zhejiang, Shanghai and Beijing have been suspended, the railway authorities there said today.
Outbound trains from Xiamen, another coastal city in Fujian, were also halted as a result of the accident, the railway station in Xiamen said in a statement. – Agencies