More than 100 injured as subway trains collide in Seoul

SEOUL - Agence France-Presse

Blood marks are seen on the floor of a damaged subway train at a subway station in Seoul May 2, 2014. Reuters

Two subway trains collided in Seoul on Friday, injuring more than 100 people but with no immediate report of any fatalities, the emergency services said.
 
"There are 117 injured, but none of them appear to be serious," a spokesman for the Seoul emergency services told AFP.
 
News of the accident broke as the country was still reeling from a ferry disaster on April 16 that left around 300 dead or missing -- most of them schoolchildren -- after the boat capsized and sank.
 
The ferry tragedy triggered widespread public anger and a bout of national soul-searching as to whether the country -- now Asia's fourth-largest economy -- had sacrificed safety standards in its rush for development.
 
The details of Friday's subway accident were not immediately clear, but it appeared that one train was stopped in Sangwangsimni station in eastern Seoul when the second train ran into its rear around 3:30 pm (0630 GMT).
 
The two last cars of the stationary train were knocked off the rails by the force of the impact, the Yonhap news agency said.
 
TV footage showed cracked windows on the two trains, and one door connecting two carriages that appeared to have been completely knocked off its hinges.
 
One image showed a blood-stained floor leading to the sliding doors in one carriage.     The subway network in Seoul carries millions of commuters daily.