An adventure ends in tragedy for little Xiang
By Dong Zhen and Zha Minjie |
July 26, 2011, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
It was Xiang Weiyi's first bullet train journey ... and one that was supposed to be a joyful and exciting experience for the 32-month-old girl.
But Saturday's catastrophic crash shattered her future, claiming the lives of both her parents, and left her trapped and alone for more than 20 hours before she was pulled out of a tiny, squashed space in the train wreckage. She was the last person to be brought out alive after the accident that had claimed 39 lives.
"She's getting better than the day before," doctors at a Wenzhou hospital said yesterday.
The girl suffered kidney and lung damage and extensive bruising as well as serious injuries to her legs.
But doctors at the No. 2 Hospital affiliated to Wenzhou Medical College said yesterday she was out of danger and there was no need to amputate her left leg as had been feared.
Beside her was her uncle, Zeng Huanyu, who had rushed to the hospital after hearing the girl had been rescued.
She lay asleep beside him, her legs tightly bandaged.
A photograph on Weibo.com, believed to have been uploaded by one of her parents before the crash, was being forwarded among Internet users yesterday with many people leaving blessings and encouraging messages for the orphaned toddler.
Alongside the photo showing the girl on the train crouching on her seat sipping a bottle of water was a message written by her parents which read: "Yiyi's first-ever bullet train journey!"
The family was on board the last carriage of the stalled D3115 train which was hit by the following bullet train.
When rescuers pulled her out, the girl was still conscious and able to respond to questions. Her father, 32-year-old middle school teacher Xiang Yu'an, was found dead by her side. Her mother was first reported missing but later confirmed dead.
The girl was reported to be crying for her father when she was rushed into an operating theater in Wenzhou.
The family were taking the train back home to Wenzhou on Saturday night after visiting the girl's grandmother in Hangzhou.
More than 100 relatives and friends had been searching for the family at hospitals in Wenzhou before the girl's aunt spotted her being rushed into a hospital. Her aunt recognized her by the dress she was wearing.
Many people have been asking how the little girl had come to be rescued hours after authorities had said there were no signs of life.
Rail ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said: "I would say it was a miracle."
But Saturday's catastrophic crash shattered her future, claiming the lives of both her parents, and left her trapped and alone for more than 20 hours before she was pulled out of a tiny, squashed space in the train wreckage. She was the last person to be brought out alive after the accident that had claimed 39 lives.
"She's getting better than the day before," doctors at a Wenzhou hospital said yesterday.
The girl suffered kidney and lung damage and extensive bruising as well as serious injuries to her legs.
But doctors at the No. 2 Hospital affiliated to Wenzhou Medical College said yesterday she was out of danger and there was no need to amputate her left leg as had been feared.
Beside her was her uncle, Zeng Huanyu, who had rushed to the hospital after hearing the girl had been rescued.
She lay asleep beside him, her legs tightly bandaged.
A photograph on Weibo.com, believed to have been uploaded by one of her parents before the crash, was being forwarded among Internet users yesterday with many people leaving blessings and encouraging messages for the orphaned toddler.
Alongside the photo showing the girl on the train crouching on her seat sipping a bottle of water was a message written by her parents which read: "Yiyi's first-ever bullet train journey!"
The family was on board the last carriage of the stalled D3115 train which was hit by the following bullet train.
When rescuers pulled her out, the girl was still conscious and able to respond to questions. Her father, 32-year-old middle school teacher Xiang Yu'an, was found dead by her side. Her mother was first reported missing but later confirmed dead.
The girl was reported to be crying for her father when she was rushed into an operating theater in Wenzhou.
The family were taking the train back home to Wenzhou on Saturday night after visiting the girl's grandmother in Hangzhou.
More than 100 relatives and friends had been searching for the family at hospitals in Wenzhou before the girl's aunt spotted her being rushed into a hospital. Her aunt recognized her by the dress she was wearing.
Many people have been asking how the little girl had come to be rescued hours after authorities had said there were no signs of life.
Rail ministry spokesman Wang Yongping said: "I would say it was a miracle."
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