Train crash in Taiwan kills dozens, scores injured
Taiwan High Speed Rail 700T. Image: Alec.
Dozens of people have died following the derailment of a train near the eastern Taiwanese town of Hualien, Taiwan railway police reported.
According to the source, quoted by the Taiwanese news agency CNA, there are also several people hospitalized with injuries of varying degrees, adding that there is no longer anyone trapped in the crashed vehicle.
The train was traveling through the Daqingshui tunnel with about 350 passengers on board at the time of the accident, which occurred at around 09.28 local time.
The Taiwan Railway Administration’s preliminary conclusion was that the train convoy derailed at the entrance to the tunnel when it collided with a maintenance vehicle improperly parked alongside the tracks. As a result of the accident, several cars crashed into the tunnel walls and others were trapped inside the tunnel.
#Taipei, April 2 (#CNA) The #deadliestAccidentInvolving a #TaiwanRailwaysAdministration (TRA) train in the past 40 years had left at least 50 dead in eastern #Taiwan as of Friday, with 144 individuals injured, the transport ministry said that day.
— QUICK MAGAZÍN® | world news (@QUICKMAGAZIN) April 2, 2021
About 100 passengers were evacuated from the train’s carriages thanks to the efforts of rescue teams to find trapped survivors. There are no longer any people trapped inside the crashed vehicle, according to CNA.
The Taiwan Railway Administration said normal service on the island’s eastern route is scheduled to resume at around 6 p.m. local time today.
The train had departed from Shulin, New Taipei, and was bound for the town of Taitung, in the southeast of the island.
-TN
