Child found after 21 hours in train wreckage

(EPA)

A toddler was yesterday pulled from the wreckage of a rail carriage almost 21 hours after two trains collided in eastern China, sending one plunging off a bridge and killing at least 43 people.

The unconscious, four-year-old girl was found early yesterday evening as rescuers were clearing one of the train cars, Xinhua News Agency reported, quoting a firefighter on the scene.

A bullet train was travelling south from the Zhejiang provincial capital of Hangzhou on Saturday evening when it lost power in a lightning strike and stalled. It was hit from behind by the second train. The first four cars of the moving train fell about 20 to 30 metres off the viaduct onto the ground below.

Eight more bodies were recovered yesterday from damaged train cars, bringing the death toll to 43. Two foreigners were among the dead but their nationalities were unclear. A total of 211 people were injured.

Three railway officials were fired after the crash and will be subject to investigation, the Ministry of Railways announced. The crash has raised safety concerns about the country's fast-expanding high-speed rail network.