Equipment failure blamed for Shanghai subway crash
A subway crash in Shanghai that left more than 270 people injured was caused by equipment failure, according to reports.
A train rear-ended another Tuesday afternoon at Laoximen station on the Shanghai Metro's Line 10.
Xinhua, the official news agency, said that equipment failure was believed to be responsible and that the accident was under investigation, The New York Times reports.
The accident in which a train careered into the back of another one occurred while controllers were running operations using a manual system following an equipment failure, Bloomberg News reports.
The state-run news media reported that 271 people were injured during the afternoon accident.
No deaths were reported, but the government said late Tuesday that about 20 people had serious injuries that were not considered life threatening, NYT reports.
Xinhua, the Chinese government's news agency, initially reported that more than 40 people were hurt in the crash, and "most of the injures were slight and there was no immediate report of severe injuries." The report cited a statement by Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co.
The crash occurred at 2:51 p.m. after a signal system failure, according to reports. More than 500 passengers were evacuated from the trains.
Laoximen station is an interchange between Shanghai Metro lines 8 and 10, and is located near Yuyuan Garden, a historic site popular with tourists, and the Xintiandi bar and restaurant area.
NYT reports:
The accident came just two months after a deadly crash involving two trains on China’s high-speed rail network for which officials blamed bad weather and a signal failure. The July 23 crash in the eastern city of Wenzhou killed 40 people and injured nearly 200.
The Wenzhou accident unleashed harsh public criticism of the nation’s high-speed rail program amid concern that the government had not ensured its safety. Since then, the government has slowed the speed of trains and announced a thorough review of its safety program.
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