China’s high speed rail crash – Will we ever know what went wrong?

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The high speed rail crash in China on 23 July killed over 40 people and  a further 200 others are receiving treatment in hospital.

State media has said the first train was struck after it had been halted due to lightning near Wenzhou in the Zhejiang province.

According to China’s Ministry of Railways, there were just over 1,072 passengers on the D3115 and 558 on D301.

The D3115 travelling from Hangzhou was struck by lightning at around 20:30 and had been forced to stop after losing power. The power failure is said to have knocked out an electronic safety system meant to warn other drivers about stationary trains on the line.

It was then struck from behind by the D301, which caused six cars to derail and four carriages to fall off a 20m high bridge.

China’s high speed lines have been the subject of concern and criticism following the speeds at which they are built, and the soaring costs of constructing them.

China’s rail minister has ordered a two-month safety review of railway operations and has apologised for the accident.

On Sunday, three railway officials were sacked after facing public outrage. An investigation into the crash on the 250 km/h line has been ordered by the rail authority.

The accident has raised serious safety concerns over China’s rapidly expanding high speed network.

The Telegraph yesterday reported that a video has emerged showing bodies ‘falling’ from carriages during the clean-up operation.

State media is reporting that Chinese authorities buried the wreckage ‘within 48 hours’ to ‘protect the innovations’ of the high speed trains. Locals have accused the authorities of a cover-up, claiming a full investigation couldn’t be carried out with the evidence buried.

It is uncertain whether we will ever find out the full facts surrounding the accident.

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