Chinese bullet train derails in lightning incident

At least 11 people were killed and 89 injured after a bullet train derailed in eastern China.

According to Xinhua news agency, late on Saturday two cars of a bullet train fell off a bridge after derailing in Zhejiang province in China. 

One of the cars reportedly fell to the ground, while the other remained hanging in the air, 20-30 meters above the ground. Each car has a capacity of approximately 100 people.

The agency earlier quoted a witness as saying that rescuers have dragged many passengers out of the car on the ground.

The train crashed at 8:34 pm local time en route to the city of Fuzhou from the provincial capital Hangzhou. The train was hit by lightning, lost control and was rear-ended by another train, Xinhua quoted local media as saying.

Rescue effort are underway.

China’s railways, which the government continues to heavily invest in, have recently been hit by a series of major scandals.

The flagship Beijing-Shanghai rail line, which opened just this month, has already experienced several power cuts which left passengers stranded in trains for hours.

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