19 people killed, 71 hurt as train hits a landslide
Source: Xinhua |
May 24, 2010, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
A TRAIN in east China's Jiangxi Province has derailed after hitting a landslide, killing at least 19 passengers and injuring 71, 11 of them seriously.
The train, heading from Shanghai to the resort city of Guilin in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was caught in the landslide as it passed through Fuzhou's Dongxiang County in the storm-hit mountain districts of Jiangxi in the early hours of yesterday.
It is not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard but the number of casualties is expected to rise, according to a statement from rescue headquarters.
The train derailed about 2:10am after hitting a section of track that had been damaged by the landslide, the Ministry of Railways said.
Reporters at the scene saw the locomotive and nine of the 17 carriages of the K859 service off the tracks and overturned.
One carriage was twisted and crushed on top of another.
All injured passengers had been retrieved, said a spokesman with rescue headquarters.
He said the train and 8,000 cubic meters of mud and rocks were removed from the tracks, thanks to 2,000 rescuers using heavy machinery.
Normal operations on the line were expected to resume early this morning.
"Each carriage had 118 seats and it is not yet known how many passengers were aboard," said a police officer, surnamed Luo, from the railway bureau in Jiangxi's capital of Nanchang.
He said the bureau called for forensic experts to the site to help identify bodies.
By a carriage, a man in his 20s, with bloodstains on his shirt and a badly cut arm, was trying to help rescuers.
The man said he was playing cards with his wife when the lights suddenly went out and the train started to roll.
"I climbed out of the window, but my wife is trapped," he said.
More than a dozen ambulances were parked by the tracks.
Many injured people, two in a serious condition, and all from the crushed fourth carriage, were sent to Dongxiang People's Hospital, a spokesman said.
"We received report on the accident at 2:30am and the injured started arriving about 4am," the hospital spokesman said.
Zeng Baofeng, who suffered injuries to his head, arm and lower back, said he was the first to climb out of the fourth carriage.
"The carriage was not full," he said. "Less than half of the seats, about 50 to 60, were taken."
After escaping from a window, Zeng heard people crying and went back into the carriage.
Wang Mei was among the people he helped.
"I was sleeping when it all happened ... I thought it was an earthquake," Wang said.
Hu Youling, unharmed, sat by her boyfriend Li Tao who had his arm broken trying to protect her. They managed to escape the wreckage by themselves.
"I used the light of my cellphone ... I saw bits of bodies on the floor," Li said.
The Shanghai-Kunming railway line was closed for some time after the accident.
President Hu Jintao and Railways Minister Liu Zhijun have ordered all-out efforts to save lives, restore rail transport and launch an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Most of Jiangxi and neighboring provinces have been drenched by heavy rain in the past week.
The train, heading from Shanghai to the resort city of Guilin in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, was caught in the landslide as it passed through Fuzhou's Dongxiang County in the storm-hit mountain districts of Jiangxi in the early hours of yesterday.
It is not immediately clear how many passengers were aboard but the number of casualties is expected to rise, according to a statement from rescue headquarters.
The train derailed about 2:10am after hitting a section of track that had been damaged by the landslide, the Ministry of Railways said.
Reporters at the scene saw the locomotive and nine of the 17 carriages of the K859 service off the tracks and overturned.
One carriage was twisted and crushed on top of another.
All injured passengers had been retrieved, said a spokesman with rescue headquarters.
He said the train and 8,000 cubic meters of mud and rocks were removed from the tracks, thanks to 2,000 rescuers using heavy machinery.
Normal operations on the line were expected to resume early this morning.
"Each carriage had 118 seats and it is not yet known how many passengers were aboard," said a police officer, surnamed Luo, from the railway bureau in Jiangxi's capital of Nanchang.
He said the bureau called for forensic experts to the site to help identify bodies.
By a carriage, a man in his 20s, with bloodstains on his shirt and a badly cut arm, was trying to help rescuers.
The man said he was playing cards with his wife when the lights suddenly went out and the train started to roll.
"I climbed out of the window, but my wife is trapped," he said.
More than a dozen ambulances were parked by the tracks.
Many injured people, two in a serious condition, and all from the crushed fourth carriage, were sent to Dongxiang People's Hospital, a spokesman said.
"We received report on the accident at 2:30am and the injured started arriving about 4am," the hospital spokesman said.
Zeng Baofeng, who suffered injuries to his head, arm and lower back, said he was the first to climb out of the fourth carriage.
"The carriage was not full," he said. "Less than half of the seats, about 50 to 60, were taken."
After escaping from a window, Zeng heard people crying and went back into the carriage.
Wang Mei was among the people he helped.
"I was sleeping when it all happened ... I thought it was an earthquake," Wang said.
Hu Youling, unharmed, sat by her boyfriend Li Tao who had his arm broken trying to protect her. They managed to escape the wreckage by themselves.
"I used the light of my cellphone ... I saw bits of bodies on the floor," Li said.
The Shanghai-Kunming railway line was closed for some time after the accident.
President Hu Jintao and Railways Minister Liu Zhijun have ordered all-out efforts to save lives, restore rail transport and launch an investigation into the cause of the accident.
Most of Jiangxi and neighboring provinces have been drenched by heavy rain in the past week.
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