Beijing subway crash leaves 102 with broken bones
A rush hour collision between two subway trains in Beijing has left 102 people with broken bones, Chinese state media reported.
More than 500 people were sent to hospital after the incident, which occurred at about 19:00 local time (11:00 GMT) on Thursday.
The trains collided during heavy snowfall while going downhill on the Changping subway line.
As of Friday morning, 423 people have been discharged from hospital.
While such accidents are not common on the Chinese capital’s transport network, snowstorms reportedly led to slippery tracks.
This then caused a “signal degradation” which led the first train to brake suddenly, China Daily reported, citing Beijing transport authorities.
The following train was unable to brake in time while coming down the icy tracks, causing it to slam into the rear of the first train.
The impact caused the last two carriages of one of the trains to detach. It is unclear which train was decoupled.
While such accidents are not common on the Chinese capital’s transport network, snowstorms reportedly led to slippery tracks.
This then caused a “signal degradation” which led the first train to brake suddenly, China Daily reported, citing Beijing transport authorities.
The following train was unable to brake in time while coming down the icy tracks, causing it to slam into the rear of the first train.
The impact caused the last two carriages of one of the trains to detach. It is unclear which train was decoupled. (BBC)
