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Search for train survivors 'not halted early'
By Zha Minjie |
August 1, 2011, Monday
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RESCUE work was not halted prematurely following the bullet train crash in Zhejiang Province a week ago, the Ministry of Railways said yesterday. It was responding to claims that the search had been called off before the last survivor had been found.
"No one from the railway rescue headquarters ever said stop searching and saving," said Lu Dongfu, the deputy rail minister.
Lu said the claims were "a hurt to the thousands of rail workers, police, firefighters and health staff who fought to save passengers at the scene."
The ministry had been under heavy criticism for apparently ending search and rescue operations too soon in an effort to get the train service running again as soon as possible after the July 23 accident which left 40 people dead and 191 injured in Wenzhou.
According to earlier reports, a police officer in Wenzhou said he had defied orders to lead another search for survivors resulting in the last survivor, 32-month-old Xiang Weiyi, being found about 21 hours after the crash.
A railway ministry spokesman called the girl's survival "a miracle."
Lu said the search and rescue effort did not end until about 11:30pm on July 24, the day after the crash. Before that, said Lu, efforts had never been halted.
But a video clip provided by a TV reporter that was posted online showed one rescuer saying the "rescue was over" on the morning of July 24.
When he visited the crash site last week, Premier Wen Jiabao said he acknowledged there were suspicions and doubts about the crash and rescue operations and said the authorities had to take such questions seriously.
Lu said workers had to remove the first three coaches that had been squashed together before a thorough search. Rescuers found Xiang in the middle coach after taking out several bodies, said Lu.
Meanwhile, Lu said the ministry did not bury any wreckage under the elevated rail road or try to destroy evidence.
The removal of any train debris was for "rescue and clean-up concerns."
Also yesterday, the ministry denied that it had issued an ultimatum to families of the killed passengers, trying to force them to accept a compensation by Saturday.
The online rumors about the "ultimatum" were false, a statement posted on the ministry's website yesterday said.
The rumors said the ministry would cease negotiations with the families if they didn't sign the agreement by Saturday.
Authorities said that 19 families of those who died had agreed to accept government compensation as of yesterday afternoon.
More than 900,000 yuan has been offered as compensation for each of the deceased.
The compensation sum was raised on Friday, a day after the premier visited the crash site, from the original 500,000 yuan offer.
"No one from the railway rescue headquarters ever said stop searching and saving," said Lu Dongfu, the deputy rail minister.
Lu said the claims were "a hurt to the thousands of rail workers, police, firefighters and health staff who fought to save passengers at the scene."
The ministry had been under heavy criticism for apparently ending search and rescue operations too soon in an effort to get the train service running again as soon as possible after the July 23 accident which left 40 people dead and 191 injured in Wenzhou.
According to earlier reports, a police officer in Wenzhou said he had defied orders to lead another search for survivors resulting in the last survivor, 32-month-old Xiang Weiyi, being found about 21 hours after the crash.
A railway ministry spokesman called the girl's survival "a miracle."
Lu said the search and rescue effort did not end until about 11:30pm on July 24, the day after the crash. Before that, said Lu, efforts had never been halted.
But a video clip provided by a TV reporter that was posted online showed one rescuer saying the "rescue was over" on the morning of July 24.
When he visited the crash site last week, Premier Wen Jiabao said he acknowledged there were suspicions and doubts about the crash and rescue operations and said the authorities had to take such questions seriously.
Lu said workers had to remove the first three coaches that had been squashed together before a thorough search. Rescuers found Xiang in the middle coach after taking out several bodies, said Lu.
Meanwhile, Lu said the ministry did not bury any wreckage under the elevated rail road or try to destroy evidence.
The removal of any train debris was for "rescue and clean-up concerns."
Also yesterday, the ministry denied that it had issued an ultimatum to families of the killed passengers, trying to force them to accept a compensation by Saturday.
The online rumors about the "ultimatum" were false, a statement posted on the ministry's website yesterday said.
The rumors said the ministry would cease negotiations with the families if they didn't sign the agreement by Saturday.
Authorities said that 19 families of those who died had agreed to accept government compensation as of yesterday afternoon.
More than 900,000 yuan has been offered as compensation for each of the deceased.
The compensation sum was raised on Friday, a day after the premier visited the crash site, from the original 500,000 yuan offer.
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