SHANGHAI (Reuters) ? Two subway trains collided in central Shanghai on Tuesday injuring more than 200 passengers, though none critically, prompting public anger just two months after a deadly crash between two high-speed trains.
The collision occurred in central Shanghai, near the Yu Yuan gardens, a well-known tourist attraction, after a signal failure meant staff had to direct trains by telephone, state media said.
"As far as we know, more than 260 injured people have been sent to hospital, and there are no deaths so far," an official at the Shanghai government's propaganda department said by telephone.
Ambulances rushed to the station and emergency personnel were seen carrying injured passengers out, Reuters witnesses said.
Shen Jun, 23, who was in the first coach of the train that collided at 2:51p.m. (2:51 a.m. EDT), said "blood was everywhere."
"Many people were hurt. Look at the blood on me, on my arm," pointing at patches of blood on his shirt.
The official Xinhua news agency said most of the injuries were bruises and bone fractures.
"Today is the darkest day in the history of the Shanghai Metro's operation," said a news report by Chinese internet company Sina, citing the subway operator's official microblog.
"No matter the ultimate cause and responsibility, (we feel) particularly guilty about the harm and losses borne by the public. We will put in our utmost ability to rescue the wounded, resume operations as soon as possible ... and cooperate with the relevant departments in the investigation."
"Even if our apologies pale in comparison to the actual injuries, we are deeply sorry."
However, the statement on Weibo was later removed. It was unclear why.
The accident follows a collision between two bullet trains in eastern China in July that killed 40 people, which triggered public fury at the government's perceived slow response and accusations of a cover-up, expressed via microblogging sites.
That disaster also raised question marks over technology promoted as a symbol of the nation's growing prowess.
FURY ON THE INTERNET
The Shanghai crash quickly became the most talked about topic on the wildly popular Twitter-like Sina Weibo service.
"Another accident -- what a joke. So much money has been spent, all they've built is crap," wrote "ggirl."
"It seems like we are going to have to revert to ancient times when we walked on foot and communicated with people by shouting. But at least we now have high-tech Weibo," added Zhao Yingying.
The respected Chinese magazine Caixin reported on its website that the signals used on the Shanghai subway were made by China Railway Signal & Communication Corp. -- the same company that was blamed for the faulty signals in the July crash.
Calls by Reuters to the company went unanswered on Tuesday evening.
The high-speed train crash in July reverberated into China's stock market.
Sources said in August a $5 billion listing plan by the operator of China's new Beijing-Shanghai bullet train, initially targeted for next year, will be further delayed following July's train crash.
China Railway Group, the country's largest railroad builder, said earlier this month it had dropped a plan to raise about 6.2 billion yuan via a share placement due to uncertainty over regulatory approval.
(Additional reporting by Fayen Wong, and Sabrina Mao in Beijing; Writing by Ben Blanchard; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani)
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