China is sending a team of medical experts to help save the leg of a little girl injured in last month's hi-speed train crash near the eastern city of Wenzhou.

China's health ministry said on its website four experts would leave for Wenzhou Tuesday. The announcement came just as Chinese state media said the government had fired Railways Ministry spokesman Wang Yongping.

Chinese reporters had chased Wang following the crash, demanding he answer more questions.

Workers pulled 2-year-old Xiang Weiyi from the wreckage more than 20 hours after the July 23 collision that killed at least 40 people, including her parents. Close to another 200 suffered various injuries.

Chinese media have nicknamed the girl “Little Yiyi” and have helped make her a symbol of growing anger over problems with the country's hi-speed rail system. Her case drew even more attention after her uncle posted a letter on his blog Sunday, asking the Railways Ministry to do more to help her.

One website called the case a test of the ministry's “humanitarian spirit.”

Chinese state media report “Little Yiyi” has already undergone at least five operations to save her leg.

China's government has come under increased pressure to address safety problems that have led to several train crashes in recent months.

Last week, the government ordered one of the country's leading train manufacturers to shut down some production lines because of problems in a safety system that caused repeated delays on the Beijing-to-Shanghai line.

The government has also suspended all new railway construction projects while it conducts a nationwide safety inspection.

China has been pouring billions of dollars into its scandal-plagued network of high-speed railways, prompting criticism that it is seeking rapid economic growth at the expense of safety.