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Two bullet trains collided in Eastern China Saturday, and the result was catastrophic. At least 35 people have died and more than 200 are injured in Wenzhou, a city in Zhejiang province, the Los Angeles Times reports. Firefighters just rescued an unconscious toddler from underneath the rubble. And according to Xinhua News Agency, the operation of 58 trains has been suspended.
This is what happened, as reported by the LA Times: a high-speed train from Hangzhou stalled after being hit by lightning, and lost power. It was then rear-ended by a train originating from Beijing. The crash sent four carriages from the oncoming train tumbling 66 feet off an elevated track. Hundreds were trapped under the debris.
"Please save us," a passenger wrote on a Twitter-like blog. "The train is leaning toward one side now. And it's totally locked. The first few carriages hit each other."
Considering the crash began with lightning, one might think that no one would be held at fault. Certainly the government has been reacting rapidly: Chinese President Hu Jintao called the rescue work a national priority, and the railway minister Sheng Guangzu rushed to supervise operations. But many have been voicing their suspicions about the attack, going so far as to indicate a possible cover-up by the government over the internet. Here are the reasons for the skepticism: