Train accident in Taiwan: 51 dead after a train hit a truck that was sliding on the tracks

A train collided with an unmanned truck that entered the track in Taiwan, killing at least 51 people and injuring dozens in the island’s deadliest rail disaster.

Many passengers were crushed and some survivors were forced to climb out the windows and walk across the roof of the train to safety.

The truck’s emergency brake was not properly engaged, according to the government’s disaster relief center, and the vehicle slid about 20 meters down a hillside.

Minutes later, the main car of the train collided with him, according to the official of the Railway Administration, Weng Hui-ping, just before the train entered a tunnel.

The train, carrying more than 400 people, derailed near the Taroko Gorge scenic area on Friday, the first day of a long holiday weekend when many people were using Taiwan’s extensive rail system, including many families with children.

Footage from the scene showed train cars wedged against the tunnel walls. Part of the wall of a car had crashed into a seat.

“Many people were crushed under the train seats in the collision. And there were other people on top of the seats. So those below were pressed and crushed and lost consciousness,” said a passenger with gauze glued to the elbow to the Taiwanese station EBC: who did not show his face or give his name.

“At first, 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 young and newly married train conductor and the assistant conductor, and said more than 100 people were injured.

The service previously said that all passengers had been accounted for, but a spokesperson later said there could be more bodies trapped in the wrecked cars and the death toll could rise.

The spokesperson spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to release the information to the media.

Weng of the Railway Administration called the accident the deadliest railway disaster in Taiwan.

He said a construction truck owned by a management contractor slid from a job site onto the road. No one was in the truck at the time.

An investigation was launched and the Hualien police interviewed one person, Weng said.

The section of track where the orange-striped train stopped hugs the coastline and lacks protective fences. Yellow and red police tape marked the accident area, where tents had been set up and dozens of rescuers and officers had converged.

With much of the train still inside the tunnel, many escaping passengers had to rush out the doors and windows and climb the sides of the train to walk along the roof in the dark to safety.

A young man interviewed by the Taiwanese media at a hospital said that he had traveled with friends during the holidays, but now he had no idea where they were.

“Everyone went flying everywhere,” said the man, who only gave his last name as Chen and who was in a wheelchair, with his arm in a cast. Obviously distraught and in pain, he said the cars and seats were warped.

Taiwan is a mountainous island, and the majority of its 24 million people live in the plains along the north and west coasts that are home to most of the agricultural land, the largest cities, and the high-tech industries of the Island. The sparsely populated east where the accident occurred is popular with tourists, many of whom travel there by train to avoid mountain roads.

In a tweet, Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said that emergency services “have been fully mobilized to rescue and assist affected passengers and railway personnel.”

“We will continue to do everything possible to ensure his safety after this heartbreaking incident.”

The accident occurred on the first day of the Grave Sweeping Festival, an annual religious holiday in which people travel to their places of origin for family reunions and to pay their respects at the graves of their ancestors.

Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang said the Railway Administration should immediately carry out checks along other tracks to “prevent this from happening again.”

About 50 volunteers from the Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation stationed in an aid tent near the crash site said the children were among the dozens who escaped from the train cars. They were treating minor injuries and offering lunches.

“We see people getting off the train and looking shocked and nervous,” said Chen Tzu-chong, leader of Tzu Chi’s team at the scene.

Taiwan’s last major rail accident was in October 2018, when an express train derailed while rounding a sharp curve on the northeast coast, killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.

In 1991, a collision in western Taiwan killed 30 people and another collision a decade earlier also killed 30. They are said to be the worst previous crashes in the rail system dating back to the late 19th century.

Taiwan’s extensive rail system has seen substantial improvements in recent years, particularly with the addition of a high-speed line connecting the capital, Taipei, with cities on the west coast to the south.

The train involved in Friday’s derailment, the Taroko No. 408, sometimes called the Taroko Express, is one of the newest models in Taiwan.