High-speed train crash kills four in China

Originally published on November 26, 2013

Five railroad workers died in a high-speed train crash outside of Shenyang, the largest city in northeast China, on November 22, according to Caixin Online.

A D-28 train, which can travel fast as 200 km per hour, was traveling from Harbin in Heilongjiang to Beijing.

The train was supposed to pass Panjin North station at 10:50 a.m. but it arrived about 20 minutes later, when five workers were scheduled to carry out maintenance work on the tracks. The time was designated a clear period, when no trains were to approach the station. According to Xinhua, the period reserved for maintenance work lasts for 103 minutes.

Four workers were killed, while one was injured. All of the victims were in their 20s. Three of them had just started work at the station.

It is not known why the train was delayed, as maintenance work has to be scheduled and timed precisely to ensure workers' safety. Shenyang Railway Bureau and China Railway Corporation have not yet commented on the accident.

China has a long record of accidents involving high-speed trains, with the most severe one taking place in Wenzhou in 2011 when two trains collided, killing 40 people and injuring 192.