China's Top Leadership Calls for All-out Efforts to Save Lives Following Train Crash

China's top leadership has called for all-out efforts to rescue passengers and making rescue work a priority following a train crash in Zhejinang.
The death toll from Saturday's high-speed train crash and derailment has risen to 35, including two foreigners. More than 200 people were injured in the accident.

Railway authorities have suspended the operation of 58 trains along the route although service is expected to soon resume.

Saturday night's crash was the first accident on China's high-speed rail network since the country launched bullet-train service in 2007 with a top speed of 250 kilometers per hour.

Wei Tong reports.

Train number D3115 from Zhejiang's provincial capital Hangzhou to the southeastern city of Fuzhou, derailed in Shuangyu Town in Wenzhou City.

The derailment occurred after the train was struck by lightning and lost power, then hit from behind by another bullet train, causing four carriages to fall off a viaduct.

Two temporary service trains carried stranded passengers from the accident site and took the injured to local hospitals for immediate treatment.

More than 1,000 people took part in the rescue operation, which ended early Sunday morning.

Minister of Railways Sheng Guangzu, who rushed to the scene, ordered an in-depth investigation of the accident.

"The Central Government has attached great importance to the accident. President Hu Jintao and Premier Wen Jiabao have called for all-out efforts to rescue the passengers. We are going to conduct a thorough investigation on the cause as soon as possible. Our top priority is saving lives. Medical teams and experts are in place to treat the injured."

The Ministry of Railways also expressed its condolences to the victims of the accident through spokesman, Wang Yongping.

"We send our deepest apologies to the passengers in the accident, convey our deep grief over the deaths, and send our sincere condolences to the relatives of the victims and those wounded."

The spokesman says the most important thing right now is to save lives and help people to locate their loved ones due to the accident. He adds victims will be duly compensated according to relevant regulations.

News of the accident aroused people's desire to help. More than 500 residents in Wenzhou, including many young people, have donated blood for the injured soon after appeals were made by the local blood bank.

"I read the information on a microblog that called on residents to donate blood. I forwarded the post and came here right away with other members of our auto club."

It was China's worst train accident since April 2008 when a train traveling from Beijing to the eastern coastal city of Qingdao derailed and crashed into another train, leaving 72 people dead and another 416 injured.

China has spent billions of dollars on bullet trains and plans more massive spending to link the entire country through a high-speed rail network.

Recent power outages and other malfunctions have plagued the showcase high-speed line between Beijing and Shanghai since it opened on June 30th.

Official plans call for China's bullet-train network to expand to 13,000 kilometers of track this year and 16,000 kilometers by 2020.

For CRI, this is Wei Tong.