Dozens of people killed in train derailment Taiwan
At least 51 people were killed by the derailment of a passenger train in Taiwan on Friday 2 April. It is the deadliest railway accident on the island in decades. The crash happened at the entrance of a tunnel, where the front of the train carrying 492 passengers was completely destroyed.
The train with 492 passengers on board hit a truck at Hualien just before a tunnel on Friday and derailed in the tunnel. The disaster killed 51 people and injured more than 200 people. The Taiwanese rail authority also released the names of 47 victims on Saturday, including three foreigners, a 27-year-old Frenchman and two persons from the United States. There were also children. The other bodies have yet to be identified.
A female occupant said she felt a shock and fell to the ground. “We broke the window and climbed on top of the train to get out,” she told local UDN newspaper. Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang has expressed condolences to the relatives.
Vehicle on the track
The truck was parked on a construction site just above the railway line. The truck’s handbrake may not have been properly applied, causing the vehicle to land on the track. It is being investigated whether the driver has not properly applied the parking brake or whether the brake was mechanically damaged. The site manager is suspected of negligence. He has been released on bail but is not allowed to leave the country.
The driver of the truck that was on the track in the deadly train disaster in Taiwan apologized in tears on Sunday. “I am very sorry and would like to express my sincere apologies,” the visibly emotional Lee Yi-hsiang told national television cameras. He also said he will cooperate with authorities in the investigation of the train accident.
Lee, 49, is an employee of the National Railways and regularly inspected Taiwan’s mountainous Eastern Railway due to potential landslides and other risks. He was interrogated last weekend and was released on bail pending further investigation.
International perspective
Earlier train crash
(EG / ANP / DPA / AFP)
Updated on 06-04-21
photo: EPA / Keelung City Fire Department