Passenger train T195 from Beijing to Qingdao came off the tracks near the city of Zibo and collided with a train (5034) traveling from Yantai to Xuzhou on the morning of April 28 at 4:41am. The two passenger trains collided in Shandong province near Zibo, killing more than 70 people and injuring at least 420 others.
The crash occured about 70 kilometers (43 miles) east of Jinan in the suburbs of Zibo. This is the second serious train accident in Shandong province this year. In January 2008, a high-speed train plowed through a group of railway workers killing 18 people.
The accident comes just a couple days before China's three-day national labor-day holiday, when passengers are expected to make more than 20 million railway journeys, according to the Ministry of Railways.
The crash disrupted two-way traffic on the Qingdao-Jinan railway, an important provincial transport link for more than 24 hours. Passenger train T195 from Beijing to Qingdao derailed, sending nine of its cars tumbling off the tracks. T195 was then hit by the second train (5034) from Yantai, causing five of its cars to derail.
Hu Weidong, a coach of China's Olympic National Sailing Team who was heading back to Qingdao, was also among the injured, and was transferred to a hospital in Jinan. "He didn't lose consciousness, but there were grave injuries to his neck and spine, which we fear could cause paralysis," Zhang told Xinhua.
Later this year in August, Qingdao will host the Sailing Regattas of the 29th Olympic Games as well as the 13th Paralympic Games and in 2009 will welcome sailors from the Volvo Ocean Race (VOR 2008-2009).
Chen Gong 陈功, head of the railway bureau in Jinan, Shandong's capital, and Jinan's Party Secretary, Chai TieMin 柴铁民, were fired and are being investigated in connection with the accident. Chen, the railway-bureau head, will be replaced by Ministry of Railways chief engineer Geng Zhixiu, and Chai will be replaced by Xu Changan, vice-chairman of the Ministry of Railways' labor union, Xinhua said.
Yang Xue, a spokeswoman at the Beijing-based Ministry of Railways, said authorities are investigating the cause of the crash. Terrorism has been ruled out. Some officials have indicated that human error was the culprit. On Tuesday April 29th, officials indicated that excessive speed was the cause of this tragedy.
news.xinhuanet.com/politics/2008-04/28/content_8066423.htm
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