The investigation into a bullet train crash in Wenzhou in July that killed 40 people has taken a dramatic turn with a leading railway expert saying he had been "misquoted" as to the cause of the accident.

Wang Mengshu.[File photo]

On Monday, the Beijing Times said Wang Mengshu, deputy director of the investigation team, had blamed poor management for the accident, overturning a preliminary investigation attributing the accident to design flaws in signaling equipment.

"The local railway authority didn't use the equipment correctly, leading to malfunction. After the equipment broke down, staff operated it improperly, causing one train to rear-end a stalled one," the newspaper quoted Wang as saying.

But yesterday Wang said that what he told the newspaper only represented his own opinions, and there were differences between what he said and what appeared in the paper.

"A reporter called me at night and said he wanted to know about the probe, and asked why the investigative report had not been made public," said Wang. "I said 'don't worry, the State Council investigatory panel will release the correct and comprehensive results.'"

Previously, a senior official with the state work safety authority said the results of the investigation would be released by September. Four months after the accident, it has still not been made public.

The Beijing Times quoted Wang as saying the investigation report had been completed and submitted to central government in September.

But Wang said yesterday he did not know "whether the report had been submitted or not."

"The phone conversation with the reporter was neither authorized by the investigatory panel nor the expert team. It was all my own opinions, rather than views of the expert team or the panel," Wang said.

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