SEOUL, South Korea — More than 235 people were injured when two trains collided on one of the major subway lines in South Korea’s capital city, police and firefighters said Saturday.
SEOUL, South Korea — More than 235 people were injured when two trains collided on one of the major subway lines in South Korea’s capital city, police and firefighters said Saturday.
Officials said 43 passengers were hospitalized, but the accident had not caused any deaths.
The accident happened when one train crashed into the back of another, which had stopped because of mechanical problems, the fire department said. Automatic controls to maintain space between trains most likely failed, Yonhap news agency reported.
The incident occurred Friday afternoon at the eastern station of Sangwangsimni on Subway Line 2.
The collision came in the wake of a government apology for poor crisis management after the April 16 sinking of a ferry that left about 300 people dead. Authorities promised an overhaul of the country’s safety systems.
Passengers said the lights in the cars went out after the crash and 20 minutes went by without any announcements from the station, prompting many passengers to force open the doors and jump onto the track to escape.
The Seoul subway system in one of the most-heavily used in the world, with more than 5 million riders per day.