51 dead in train crash in Taiwan
HUALIEN COUNTY, Taiwan — A train barreled into an unmanned truck that had rolled onto the track Friday in Taiwan, leaving at least 51 people dead and dozens injured in the island’s deadliest rail disaster. Many passengers were crushed, while some survivors were forced to climb out of windows and walk along the train’s roof to safety.
The truck’s emergency brake was not properly engaged, according to the government’s disaster relief center, and the vehicle slid about 65 feet down a hillside. Minutes later, the train’s lead car crashed into it, according to Railways Administration official Weng Huiping, just before the train entered a tunnel.
The train, which was carrying more than 400 people, derailed near the Taroko Gorge scenic area on the first day of a long holiday weekend when many people were using Taiwan’s extensive rail system, including many families with children.
“Many people were crushed under train seats in the collision. And there were other people on top of the seats. So those at the bottom were pressed and crushed and lost consciousness,” a passenger with gauze taped to her elbow told Taiwanese broadcaster EBC, which did not show her face or give her name. “At the beginning, they still responded when we called them. But I guess they lost consciousness afterward.”
The National Fire Service confirmed the death toll — which included the train’s young, newly married driver and the assistant driver — and said more than 100 people were injured.
Mr. Weng said a construction truck whose owner was a contractor for the administration slid from a work site above the track. No one was in the truck at the time.
The crash came on the first day of the four-day Tomb Sweeping Festival, an annual religious holiday when people travel to their hometowns for family gatherings and to pay their respects at the graves of their ancestors.
Taiwan’s last major rail crash was in October 2018 when an express train derailed on the northeast coast, killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.