3 Dead in China Train Crash

Bad design, bad management, bad rescue effort

(NEWSER) - Forty people died when two bullet trains crashed into each other in China in July—and 54 officials are to blame. The announcement comes via a long-awaited government report on the tragedy, which points to "serious design flaws and major safety risks," and notes errors in equipment procurement and management. Also found to be lacking: the Railways Ministry's rescue efforts. The report backed up previous statements about the cause of the crash, again attributing it to a lightning strike that stalled a bullet train; a sensor failure and mistakes made by train controllers allowed the second train to continue on the same track and slam into the first. More»

Public anger erupts over second train crash since July

(NEWSER) - More than 260 people were injured today when two subway trains collided in central Shanghai, a government official says. Most of the wounds were bruises and bone fractures, and none were critical, Reuters reports, but one passenger says that “blood was everywhere." More»

600 aboard vessel in Tanzania; smaller accident in China

(NEWSER) - Separate ferry accidents in Tanzania and China have taken a heavy toll:

• Tanzania: An overcrowded ship with about 600 people capsized in rough seas after leaving port at Dar es Salaam. At least 40 are dead and about 370 missing. The rest were rescued, reports AP . Relatives are livid the ship was allowed to leave with such a heavy load.
• China: At least nine students and two adults drowned when their ferry capsized in a river in central China, reports AP . The students were on a holiday trip, and at least three more people are missing. Police in Hunan province have detained the boat owners.

Will slow trains by 30mph while it also conducts safety checks

(NEWSER) - China is putting the brakes on its vaunted system of high-speed trains, following a derailment last month that killed 40 and sparked such fury that Beijing had to order a media blackout on negative coverage . China's fastest trains will be slowed by about 30mph to 185mph beginning next month, reports the LA Times, and Beijing will also conduct a series of safety checks along its existing lines. China currently has 8,000 miles of rail, with plans to expand that to 10,000. Much of the rage over last month's derailment, however, focused on the government's having cut corners on safety in the name of technological advances. More»

Criticism mounting over Beijing's handling of accident that killed at least 40

(NEWSER) - China has been taking increasing heat over last weekend's fatal collision between two bullet trains , so it has, predictably, decided to get out of the kitchen. Facing a barrage of criticism that it put whiz-bang technological advances ahead of the safety of its citizenry, Beijing late Friday shut down all coverage of the disaster—except positive or sanitized stories—forcing Chinese media to shred front pages, scrap stories, and plug newshole with cartoons, reports the New York Times. More»