Hundreds injured after subway trains collide in Shanghai

[News_Editor]

Hundreds injured after subway trains collide in Shanghai

2011-09-28 00:59:02 GMT+7 (ICT)

SHANGHAI (BNO NEWS) -- More than 270 people were injured on Tuesday afternoon when a subway train rear-ended another in Shanghai, the largest city in China, officials said. None are in a critical condition.

The accident happened at around 2.51 p.m. local time when a subway train crashed into the back of a stationary train in an underground tunnel in Shanghai. The trains were being operated manually with instructions being given through phone due to a signal failure shortly before the accident.

City officials said that, as of 7 p.m. local time, a total of 271 people had been treated for injuries at area hospitals. Of those, 180 were released within hours while 61 remain hospitalized and 30 others are being kept for 24 hours for observation. Some of the 61 were seriously injured, but none were in a critical condition.

More than 500 people were quickly evacuated from both trains and, within hours, authorities removed the trains from the track to allow the route to reopen, according to Shanghai Metro. The cause of the accident was not immediately known, and it was unclear if the signal failure played a role in it.

Tuesday's accident was one of the worst subway accidents ever in Shanghai, but it comes amid a series of minor subway accidents in the city. In July and August, the Shanghai subway system experienced, among other incidents, a tunnel fire, a train gate failure, and a signal mistake which caused a train to run in the wrong direction.

In December 2009, a breakdown in the power system caused two subway trains to collide in Shanghai. There were no casualties as both trains were moving at low speeds.

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