A collision between two Beijing subway trains, due to the snow that hit the Chinese capital, left 515 injured, including 102 with fractures, authorities reported today.
The accident occurred on Thursday night, in a mountainous area west of Beijing, on the surface of the Changping line.
The slippery rails caused the train ahead to brake automatically. The train that was behind was on a descending section, skidded and could not stop in time, the municipal transportation authority reported in a statement.
Medical personnel, police and transport authorities went to the scene and all passengers were evacuated around 11:00 p.m. (3:00 p.m. in Lisbon), according to the same note.
According to authorities, twenty-five passengers were under observation and 67 remained hospitalized as of Friday morning.
Unusually heavy snow that began falling on Wednesday led to the suspension of some rail operations and the closure of schools.
Warnings remain in effect for icy roads, extreme cold and additional snowfall. Temperatures are expected to drop to -11 degrees overnight. No deaths were reported from the winter storms that hit a wide swath of northern China.
Source: TSF
