Rescue workers are searching through wreckage today after a high-speed train smashed into a stalled train in eastern China, killing at least 35 and injuring 210 in China's deadliest train disaster since 2008.
The crash happened yesterday after the first train lost power due to a lightning strike and a bullet train following behind crashed into it, state media said, raising new questions about the safety of the fast-growing rail network.
Two foreigners also died in the accident, which took place on a bridge near the city of Wenzhou in Zhejiang province, some 860 miles south of Beijing, state news agency Xinhua said. China News Service, a semi-official news agency, said one of them was a female in her 20s.
Dozens of rescue workers and firefighters used excavators to move the wreckage of the two trains as they believed more bodies were in one of the carriages that was dangling beside the bridge. It was unclear how many were on the trains at the time of the accident.
Rail remains the most popular method of long-distance transport in China and trains are usually extremely crowded, with long-distance trains carrying as many as 1,000 passengers.
The reliability of China's railways has been called into question recently after the flagship Beijing-Shanghai high-speed rail line suffered a series of power outages since it opened to great fanfare a month ago.
After the collision, China suspended 23 high-speed trains from the provincial capital of Zhejiang, Xinhua said.
Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Dejiang arrived on the scene to help with the relief work and investigation, state television reported. Chinese President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao also called for all-out efforts to rescue passengers and ordered to make rescue work a priority, a government statement said.
China's rail network has also been hit by a series of scandals. Three railway officials have been investigated for corruption this year, according to local media reports.
In February, Liu Zhijun was sacked as railways minister for "serious disciplinary violations." He had led the rail sector's investment drive over the past decade.
Reuters