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TAIPEI: An express train that derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan on Friday (April 2) morning was carrying about 490 people, said the island’s Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung.
This was higher than the previous figure of 350 people provided by the fire department.
The train was traveling from Taipei to Taitung when it derailed north of Hualien. It was bringing many tourists and people heading home at the start of a traditional long weekend feast to tend to family graves.
At least 48 people were killed, including the train conductor, and dozens more were injured.
Taiwanese media said many people were on their feet when the train was full, and were thrown when it crashed, showing images of survivors being pulled out of the tunnel.
READ: Taiwan train accident kills dozens in deadliest railway tragedy in decades
“People fell in love, one on top of the other,” one survivor told local television. “It was scary. There were entire families there.”
The derailment occurred on the eastern Taiwan railway line around 9:30 a.m. Rescue teams worked for hours to reach those trapped inside the tunnel and remove them. By mid-afternoon, authorities said there were no people left inside the wagons.
TRUCK DRIVER ACQUIRED BY THE POLICE
The official central news agency said a truck whose parking brake was not set was suspected of slipping off a sloping road into the train path, and that police had taken the driver for questioning.
According to the Taiwan Railways Administration, the vehicle should not have been parked on the slope because no construction work was taking place at the time, Focus Taiwan reported.
The fire department showed an image of what appeared to be the wreckage of the truck next to the derailed train, and an aerial image of the end of the train on the track next to a construction site.
