11 dead as test train hits workers in China’s worst rail accident in over a decade

At least 11 people were killed, and two others were injured after a test train ran over a team of maintenance workers in southwestern China on Thursday, state-run media platform Xinua reported. Officials are calling it the country’s deadliest train accident in more than a decade. The incident took place in the city of Kunming in Yunnan Province in southwestern China.

The accident occurred when a test train examining earthquake detection systems struck a group of maintenance workers on a curved section of track at Kunming’s Luoyangzhen (Luoyang Town) station, killing several and injuring others, officials said.

Since the tragic incident happened while the railway workers were on the track, authorities opened an investigation into the cause.

Despite the incident, the station in Yunnan Province resumed normal operations, according to a statement and reports from state-run Xinhua news agency.

Two more railway maintenance workers were killed on Thursday in Sichuan’s Deyang city after being struck by a train, news agency Reuters reported, quoting Jimu News.

China operates the world’s largest rail network, stretching over 1,60,000 km and handling billions of passenger trips annually.

While widely praised for efficiency, the system has faced criticism following major accidents, including a 2011 crash in Zhejiang that left 40 dead and 200 injured.

In another notable incident, nine workers were killed in 2021 when a train on the Lanzhou-Xinjiang line in Gansu collided with a maintenance crew.

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