Kunming [China], November 27 : At least 11 people were killed on Thursday when a test train struck a group of maintenance workers on the track in Kunming, the capital of China's Yunnan province, state-run Xinhua reported. Two others were injured and have been hospitalised.
According to China Railway Kunming Group Co. Ltd., the accident took place early in the morning at Louyangzhen station. Railway authorities said the cause of the collision is still under investigation, though operations at the station have since resumed.
Xinhua said emergency teams were immediately deployed after the crash. "After the accident, the railway authorities immediately activated the emergency response plan and, together with the local government, organised rescue efforts and medical treatment for the injured," the agency reported.
The incident comes just a day after a major tragedy in Hong Kong, where a high-rise apartment building caught fire, killing 55 people, according to CNN.
Another 23 people were injured in the blaze, including eight firefighters. Officials said 51 victims died at the scene and four later succumbed to injuries in the hospital.
China, which operates one of the world's largest railway networks, has reported several fatal train accidents over the years, though such incidents have reduced significantly. In 2022, a train derailed in Guizhou province after striking debris from a landslide near Rongjiang county, killing the conductor and injuring eight others, according to state media, Al Jazeera reported.
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