China Local News
Reporter’s Smiling Selfie at Scene of Horrifying Accident Triggers Anger on Weibo
“This is no laughing matter” – A happy selfie at the scene of a grave accident triggers anger on social media.
Local media reports in China blame a “sudden fog” for a horrifying accident at an Anhui expressway that killed at least 18 people and injured 21 others on Wednesday morning. The multiple collision caused over 30 vehicles to pile up, NDTV reports.
Multiple collision in Anhui, November 15 (Image by CCTV).
Dramatic footage (CCTV video, Youtube) taken at the scene, near Fuyang city, shows that multiple trucks and cars caught fire after the collision and how rescue workers are at work to verify casualties.
A presenter poses at the scene of the accident with a big smile.
The gravity of the accident did not stop a local Fuyang reporter, however, from taking smiling selfies at the scene. The woman, a presenter at Fuyang’s Yingxiang Traffic Radio (@颍上交通音乐广播), makes a peace sign and holds her badge as she happily poses in front of burnt out cars. A man in uniform is standing next to her in one of the photos.
The photos were posted on Weibo by multiple accounts, one belonging to a female netizen who is a local resident from Fuyang, Anhui. She writes:
“At 7.45 in the morning of the 15th, 30 vehicles collided, leaving 18 people dead and 21 wounded. Yet this Fuyang Radio presenter poses at the scene of the crash with a man in uniform grinning from ear to ear. Don’t you have a conscience? Don’t you have any personal integrity in your work?”
One of the first people to share the photos on Weibo is a local Fuyang resident.
The pictures triggered thousands of angry reactions on Weibo. A typical comment by an anonymous netizen said:
“She has no humanity at all. So many people have died, and she is still playing around with selfies, is that human? Just seeing this scene, my heart feels so upset. I hope the relevant authorities in Anhui will teach her a lesson.”
Many of the people commenting to the issue said they were also from Fuyang and grieved by the accident and the woman’s behaviour at the scene. Fuyang is a prefecture-level city in Anhui with more than 7,5 million inhabitants.
Scene of the crash, photos from Weibo.
On Wednesday evening, the presenter in question uploaded a video in which she apologizes for her actions. “Hello everybody I am Ling, and I want to sincerely apologize for what has happened today,” she says: “I’m sorry. I was wrong.”
The woman named ‘Ling’ apologized in an online video on Wednesday night.
In the morning of November 16, the Fuyang Traffic Radio station posted an announcement on social media denouncing their colleagues’ behavior, stating that her employment at the station has since been terminated.
The Fuyang radio station announced on Weibo that the woman is no longer working for them.
This is not the first time a smiling photo at the scene of a serious accident goes viral on Weibo. In 2012, a local Shaanxi official made headlines when he was photographed laughing at the scene of a traffic collision that left 36 people dead.
The photo of the “smiling official” instigated a ‘human flesh search’ with people on Weibo researching his identity and background. His expensive watches drew the attention of netizens, who eventually exposed him as a corrupt official.
The ‘smiling official’ at the scene of an accident that left 36 people dead. (Image via Chinasmack)
On Weibo, many people do not understand how someone can be smiling under grave circumstances: “Is she braindead? How could you ever laugh when 18 people just died?”
There are also a few people, however, who feel the presenter is criticized too harshly by the online community. One person writes: “Give the girl a chance. People make mistakes.”
Others remind the people discussing this issue to focus on the victims of the accident instead: “We hope they can rest in peace.”
By Manya Koetse
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China Local News
Children of Hubei Medical Workers to Receive 10 Extra Points on High School Enrolment Examination
Hubei officials announced a controversial measure to reward frontline medical workers.
China Local News
Sudden Ground Collapse at Metro Station in Xiamen
A sudden collapse occurred near Xiamen’s Lucuo station, just two weeks after a similar incident took place in Guangzhou.
First published
In the evening of December 12, Xiamen’s Lvcuo (Lǚcuò 吕厝) metro station became a breaking news topic in Chinese media after a ground collapse incident occurred at a nearby intersection, followed by a major flood in the Xiamen subway.
Xiamen, Fujian Province, is one of China’s major coastal cities. According to Xiamen Metro News, the collapse happened at 21:52 local time.
Ground collapsed at Lvcuo station of Metro Line 2 in Xiamen pic.twitter.com/qrkDsJjsCO
— Chenyu_Liang (@chenyuliang) December 12, 2019
At time of writing, rescue teams are still investigating the scene. It is unclear if people have been trapped or injured due to the collapse.
An apparent dashcam video shared by Sina News and People’s Daily on Weibo shows the moment right before the sudden collapse.
The video captures how the road is relatively busy at the time of collapsing, and at least one car can be seen crashing into the sinkhole.
The moment before it happened pic.twitter.com/fVAxFAgD3s
— Chenyu_Liang (@chenyuliang) December 12, 2019
Other footage shows that the Xiamen metro line is currently flooded (also see video in this tweet).
The scene of the collapse at 0:10 local time.
The metro station where this incident occurred is relatively new. Xiamen’s metro line was first opened in late December 2017.
Just two weeks ago, another major ground collapse accident occurred at the construction site of a metro line in Guangzhou. Three people remain missing after the incident.
On Thursday night local time, the Xiamen metro collapse was the number one trending topic on social media platform Weibo. Many netizens commenting on the incident express worries about the safety of roads and construction sites in China.
Update (Dec 13): According to the latest Chinese media reports, the drivers of two cars who were at the scene at the moment of the ground collapse have both been recused. One female pedestrian who also fell into the sinkhole is receiving medical treatment..
By Manya Koetse
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