Qingdao to Nanchang train catches fire

(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2009-08-03 16:05

A train locomotive caught fire after it passed Zibo, a city in Shandong province at around 5:00 pm Sunday, according to the Qilu News, a local newspaper in Shandong. No injuries were reported.

The cause of the fire is currently under investigation.

The train, number K344, was headed to Nanchang, the capital city of Jiangxi province, from Qingdao, in Shandong province. The fire delayed it by about four hours and it also delayed 10 other trains for between 30 minutes and two and a half hours.

A passenger named Zhu Liqiang who was in the third car, said he saw some smoke outside the window around 5:00pm, and soon smelled something was burning. Air-conditioners and lights were then cut off, leaving only two emergency lights on. Passengers in the first carriage were running to cars farther back in the train.

"I felt very frightened at the very beginning, because feared that the fire would quickly spread. But the train staff calmed us by telling us it was only a mechanical failure," Zhu said.

Once the incident had been dealt with, the train resumed service with a new locomotive.