As China mourns the deaths of 39 people from the July 23 crash in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province, the country is also struggling with questions surrounding the lack of public appearances from political figures. Following an official apology, Premiere Wen Jiabao made his first visit to the crash site on Thursday. The country's leader said that he was sick and only visited the crash site after receiving clearance from his doctor, reports the Financial Times.
More than 200 people were also injured from the high-speed train crash, which Chinese authorities now believe was the cause of a signal malfunction. The weekend disaster is the country's worst since 2008.
People stand by candles lit in memory of those who were killed in a train accident in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province July 25, 2011. China sacked three senior railway officials on Sunday after a collision between two high-speed trains killed at least 39 people and raised new questions about the safety of the fast-growing rail network. Picture taken July 25, 2011.REUTERSChinese Premier Wen Jiabao gestures as he delivers a speech at a news conference held at the site of the train accident in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province July 28, 2011. Wen said on Thursday that his visit to the site of the weekend crash of two high-speed trains in eastern China that killed 39 people was delayed due to his medical problems.REUTERSChinese Premier Wen Jiabao (front) lays a bouquet of flowers to mourn for victims of the train accident in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province July 28, 2011. Wen on Thursday vowed to "severely punish" those responsible for the train crash and said safety would be the top priority for the country's high-speed rail technology exports, Xinhua News Agency reported.REUTERSAn injured man receives medical treatment at a hospital after two carriages from a bullet train derailed and fell off a bridge in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province July 24, 2011. Rescue workers on Sunday dug through the tangled wreckage after a high-speed train smashed into a stalled train in eastern China, killing at least 35 and injuring 210 in China's deadliest train disaster since 2008.REUTERSA woman cries as relatives console her inside a morgue where people had gathered to search for their missing kin, who were passengers on two bullet trains that had crashed in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province July 25, 2011. China sacked three senior railway officials a day after Saturday's collision between two high-speed trains following a lightning strike, killing at least 36 people in the country's worst rail disaster since 2008.REUTERSResidents hold a banner at a railway station in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province July 27, 2011. China's rail minister, facing public outrage over Saturday's deadly train crash, has ordered a two-month safety review of railway operations and apologised for the accident which killed 39 people, state media reported on Tuesday. The banner reads, "Give back dignity to those who were killed (in the train accident on) July 23".REUTERSA woman cries as relatives console her inside a morgue where people had gathered to search for their missing kin who were passengers on two bullet trains that had crashed in Wenzhou, Zhejiang province July 25, 2011. China sacked three senior railway officials a day after Saturday's collision between two high-speed trains following a lightning strike, killing at least 36 people in the country's worst rail disaster since 2008.REUTERS
