Subway Accident in Seoul, South Korea Leaves Over 200 Injured
Less than a month after the tragic ferry sinking that left over 300 people either dead or missing, another transportation accident has occurred in South Korea.
Reuters reports that 200 people were injured Friday morning when a subway train collided with another coming into Sangwangsimni station in the nation's capital of Seoul. Luckily, no casualties have been reported at this time.
According to emergency officials, most of the passengers hurt in the collision suffered only "minor abrasions." However, one person is now being treated for a brain hemorrhage and another for a fracture.
Seoul Metro official Chung Soo-young claims that the accident was caused by a signal malfunction.
"I fell forwards maybe two or three metres," said 26-year-old Lee Dong-hyeon, who was on the incoming train when it crashed. "It was like tripping over when running really fast."
About 1,000 people were evacuated from the station. Witnesses claimed that many ignored warnings to stay put, forcing the train doors open and jumping out on to the tracks.
The South Korean government has come under harsh criticism as a result of the slow rescue response to the ferry accident last month. Over 300 schoolchildren were told to remain onboard, as crew members escaped from the ship.
President Park Geun-hye's approval rating as plummeted in the aftermath of the ferry accident. Prime Minister Chung Hong-won recently announced his resignation, taking responsibility for the government's failures.
"During the search process, the government took inadequate measures and disappointed the public," Chung said, as reported by CNN. "I should take responsibility for everything as the prime minister, but the government can assume no more. So I will resign as prime minister."
This is the largest South Korean subway accident in over a decade. In 2003, a subway fire in Daegu claimed 192 lives.
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