Hasty burial of wreckage sparks suspicion

Beijing - Burying parts of the wreckage from Saturday's deadly high-speed rail accident was a part of the rescue operation and not an attempt to hide evidence, a spokesman for the Ministry of Railways said.

It was inconceivable for government authorities to try to cover up the collision, and it was necessary to bury the damaged carriages to make way for mechanical equipment to proceed with rescue efforts, spokesman Wang Yongping said at a news conference on Sunday night.

Wang was responding to questioning about damaged carriages - which could be important for an investigation into the collision - being torn apart and pushed into large pits at the accident site.