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Dozens of people have died after a train derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan on the first day of a holiday period, authorities say, in the island’s deadliest rail disaster in decades.
The 408 Taroko Express was carrying about 350 people when it derailed Friday morning at the Qingshui Tunnel in Huaelien County, the Transportation Ministry said. He said 36 passengers “had no signs of life,” and another 44 had been sent to hospital with injuries.
Most of the deaths occurred in the two rear carriages, authorities said.
Dozens of fire, search and rescue and military vehicles and more than 150 personnel were dispatched to the scene, as rescue operations continued into the afternoon.
The fire department said between 80 and 100 people had been evacuated from the front four cars, while cars five through eight were “warped” and difficult to access.
The express train was traveling south to Taitung on the first day of a long weekend for the traditional tomb-sweeping party, which has many trips across the island.
The ministry said the train derailed in the tunnel north of the city of Hualien, causing some carriages to crash into the walls. Some carriages inside the tunnel were difficult to reach and people were believed to remain trapped.
Reports from the scene said authorities suspected that an engineering truck that was not parked properly had slid from a nearby highway onto the train path.
“Our train collided with a truck,” said a man in a video broadcast on Taiwanese television, showing images of the wreckage. “The truck fell apart.”
Photos of the incident show wagons crumpled together at the tunnel opening, and others smashed or smashed against the walls inside the tunnel. Outside there appears to be the remains of a truck or trailer.
News footage from the scene showed passengers crawling across the roof of a carriage stuck at the tunnel entrance.
The 408 is one of the fastest in Taiwan’s regular train network, reaching speeds of up to 130 km / h. It runs along the popular East Coast region, including through the spectacular mountains and gorges near Taroko National Park, through tunnels and bridges.
In 2018, 18 people were killed and 175 injured when a train derailed in northeast Taiwan. In 1981, 30 were killed in a collision in northern Taiwan.
This is a news flash and more details will be forthcoming.
