Shanghai subway trains rear-end, over 240 injured

The number of injured passengers have risen to 245, Xinhua reporters learned from about 10 hospitals that offer treatment.

Most of the injuries were bruises and bone fractures and there were also external head traumas, doctors told Xinhua. None of the injured were in critical condition, they said.

The crash occurred about at 2:51 p.m. following a signal system failure at one station on the Line 10 subway, Shanghai Shentong Metro Group Co. said in a statement, adding that about 500 passengers had been evacuated from the trains.

The signal system failure at about 2:10 p.m. meant the trains had to be directed over the phone by subway staff rather than by electric signals and run at slower speeds, it said.

Photos posted on weibo.com, China's popular Twitter-like microblogging service, showed several passengers bleeding, with firefighters entering the train to rescue the injured; Kazinform cites China Daily.

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