More than 100 people injured in Beijing metro train collision
BEIJING: Hundreds of commuters were taken to hospital in Beijing on Thursday, including dozens with broken bones, after two trains collided on a busy metro line amid icy conditions, CNN reported, citing the city’s transport authority. .
The collision between the two trains occurred at around 7 pm (local time) on the Changping subway line, which extends northwest of Beijing. At least 515 people were taken to hospital for examination, 102 of whom were suffering from fractures. The statement said no one died in the incident, CNN reported.
According to the statement, as of 6 am (local time) on Friday, 423 people had left the hospital. According to a statement released by the Beijing Municipal Transport Commission, a preliminary investigation revealed that weather conditions caused the collision due to a malfunction related to signaling and emergency braking. According to the statement, one train made an emergency stop due to the tracks being slippery in snow and the other due to an accident in it. “Due to slippery snow on the tracks, a train made an emergency stop and crashed into another train following it,” the statement said.
“The latter train was in a downhill section, and due to icy weather, it slipped and failed to brake effectively, causing a rear-end collision with the train in front,” the statement said, CNN reports. ” Different compartments of the train are visible in the video shared on social media. “The subway train I took broke into two,” a passenger said in a video, CNN reported.
The incident occurred on the above-ground portion of the metro. About 400,000 passenger trips typically take place on the line on a weekday, CNN reported, citing state media. Beijing Transport issued an apology for the incident and said it would investigate and take necessary measures to avoid such incidents in the future. The collision between the trains comes at a time when people in Beijing and northern China are facing severe cold and snowfall since Wednesday, which has affected transport and closed schools.
