China ‘sacrificing safety for growth’

CHINESE authorities came under fire yesterday after the worst subway accident in 42 years raised fresh fears that the world’s second biggest economy was sacrificing safety in the rush to develop.

The operator of Shanghai’s subway Line 10 said human error played a role in the crash, in which 270 people were hurt, 20 critically, the official Xinhua news agency said, citing a company statement.

“According to an initial investigation, a sudden loss of power caused the signal system to fail, forcing the trains to be operated manually,” Xinhua said.