Forty people died when two bullet trains crashed into each other in China in July—and 54 officials are to blame. The announcement comes via a long-awaited government report on the tragedy, which points to "serious design flaws and major safety risks," and notes errors in equipment procurement and management. Also found to be lacking: the Railways Ministry's rescue efforts. The report backed up previous statements about the cause of the crash, again attributing it to a lightning strike that stalled a bullet train; a sensor failure and mistakes made by train controllers allowed the second train to continue on the same track and slam into the first.
The report points a finger at the former Minister of Railways, who was jailed months before the crash as part of a graft investigation, and the GM of the maker of the track signal, who died of a heart attack while talking to investigators in August. The AP reports that the singling out of a man in jail, a dead man, and a number of already fired mid-level managers indicates that any additional political fallout will be limited. There was no mention of possible criminal penalties. (More China stories.)