51 dead in Taiwan train crash
A train barreled into an unmanned truck that had rolled onto the track Friday in the island’s deadliest rail disaster. l
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 Hui-ping, 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. Images from the scene showed the train’s cars wedged against the tunnel’s walls. Part of the wall of one car had smashed into a seat.
“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 and said more than 100 people were injured.
The service earlier said all passengers had been accounted for, but a spokesperson later said there may be more bodies trapped in the mangled cars and the death toll may still rise. The spokesperson spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to release the information to media.
Weng, of the Railways
Administration, called the crash Taiwan’s deadliest rail disaster.
He 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. An investigation has been launched, and Hualien police have interviewed one person, Weng said.
The stretch of track where the orange-striped train came to a halt hugs the coastline and lacks any protective fencing. Yellow and red police tape marked the area of the crash, where tents had been set up and dozens of rescuers and officials had converged.
With much of the train still inside the tunnel, many escaping passengers had to scramble out of doors and windows and scale the sides of the train to walk along the roof in darkness to safety.
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.