China train accident was due to overspeeding Zuzana Zelenakova

On Monday, April 28, China was a witness to tragic rail crash when high-speed passenger train on its way from Beijing to Quingdao hit the other train traveling in the opposite direction. The train headed for Quingdao – the site of Olympic sailing events – derailed and was swept into a ditch beside the tracks. The derailed carriages slammed into another train. The accident happened at about 4:40 a.m., some time before dawn, near the city of Zibo in Shandong province. “Most passengers were still asleep, but some were standing in the aisle waiting to get off at the Zibo railway station,” said one of the passengers to Xinhua News Agency. So far there are 70 dead and 420 injured, among them also the coach of China's national sailing team Hu Weidong. The youngest passenger wounded was 3-year-old boy. As 70 people were hospitalized with grave injuries condition the number of the victims could increase. When it comes to the cause of the tragic event, the possibility of terrorist attack was rejected shortly afterwards and the human error was blamed. On Tuesday, the investigators informed it was overspeeding that got the train off the rails. Speed limit in the area was that of 80 km, but the train was traveling at 131 km. Two officials from Jinan Railway Bureau, its Communist Party Secretary and the director, were held responsible and sacked. Currently they are being questioned by the Ministry of Railways. The Railway Minister Liu Zhijun together with Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang arrived at the scene to keep an eye on the rescue efforts. Also around 1,000 soldiers and armed police were involved. Even the local villagers helped people trapped in the carriages to get out. More than 700 medical staff and 130 ambulances treated the injured. This is the second tragic train accident that happened in Shandong province this year.

related story: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080428/ap_on_re_as/china_train_crash;_ylt=ArxbTMMzGsVyWmYj6oUDqsas0NUE

by Zuzana Zelenakova for PocketNews (http://pocketnews.tv)

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edited by Tatiana Kucharikova