(Ecns.cn) – A week after the high-speed rail tragedy, a man referred to as "Brother Helmet" by Chinese netizens appeared on the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed train with a personal arsenal of safety equipment. He has now become a mysterious Internet star admired by thousands of people.
Equipped with a safety helmet, home-made safety belt, flashlight, Swiss army knife, water, video camera, fan, umbrella, and the patented Chinese drug Yunnan white medicine cream, "Brother Helmet" explained that these were all survival items for the high-speed train journey.
He said, "A day before my departure date on the high-speed train, I was very nervous. Though I understand that the probability of the occurrence of such a train accident is quite small, I just want to bring myself some confidence. All these things are necessary under extreme situations, and can also be used to save other people."
On Weibo.com, a twitter-like microblogging website in China, a picture of "Brother Helmet" has been reposted tens of thousands of times, and he received overwhelming support from netizens. Many web users echoed his thoughts, saying that they might also need to prepare such a safety helmet for themselves when traveling on high-speed trains.
On July 23, 2011, a high-speed train lost power after being struck by lightning and was rear-ended by another train in eastern China's Zhejiang Province, claiming 40 lives and injuring 192 people.