MORE THAN 200 INJURED
Less than one month after the unfortunate sinking of the Sewol ferry in South Korea that left 300 dead or missing, there has been another serious accident in the country. It happened on May 2, 2014 and has left more than 200 people injured.
This time, the accident involved two trains. A moving train slammed into the back of another train which had stopped at Sangwangsimni station in Seoul. The accident happened because the Automatic Train Stop system (ATS) at the station did not work. The ATS's job is to control the distance between trains and should have been activated when the two trains were within 200 metres of each other. By the time the driver of the moving train noticed that there was a train in front of his, it was too late for him to brake.
South Korean railway workers inspect two damaged trains after they collided at Sangwangsimni station in Seoul on May 2, 2014. AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE
The force of the collision was so strong that the last two carriages of the stationary train were thrown off the rails. There were cracked windows on both trains and other forms of damage. One elderly woman was seriously hurt, while more than 150 required some sort of treatment - mainly for cuts and sprains.
On the back of the sinking of the Sewol ferry, this latest accident has made the public even angrier about the safety standards of public transport in South Korea.
Featured image: South Korean railway workers inspect the train that slammed into a stationary train at Sangwangsimni station in Seoul on May 2, 2014. AFP PHOTO / JUNG YEON-JE
