Trapped in sweltering heat for three hours after the air conditioning failed, a Chinese train passenger smashed a window with a hammer as fellow commuters cheered.
The incident happened on July 2 after passenger train K1373 collided with a freight train in Zhejiang Province, forcing it to stop on its way to Jinhua city. With the AC shut off for repairs, temperatures inside the carriages soared to 31 degrees Celsius, leaving passengers drenched in sweat, The Paper reported.
“It’s suffocating. Can you open the carriage door?” one passenger pleaded, but staff refused.
A 50-year-old woman nearly fainted from the heat, but staff only handed out free bottled water to elderly passengers and children.
By 10 p.m., a male passenger in carriage No. 3 grabbed a hammer and smashed a window to let in fresh air. Staff tried to stop him, but he kept breaking the glass as other passengers cheered him on.
“A hero, a hero,” a fellow commuter exclaimed, according to a video shared by The Paper.
“As soon as the window shattered, fresh air rushed in and the temperature dropped,” another passenger said.
The air conditioning finally came back on at 11:11 p.m. When the train arrived at Jinhua station, railway police reprimanded the man who broke the window and staff repaired the damage, Xinhua reported.
China Railway issued an official statement on July 5, reigniting the debate on Chinese social media. Many questioned whether smashing the window was justified and called for better emergency protocols to protect passengers trapped in extreme heat.
