In this photo of Taiwanese firefighters, we see rescuers busy at the scene of the train derailment. – / AP / SIPA
At least 48 people were killed in the derailment of a crowded train inside a tunnel in eastern Taiwan on Friday in what was the island’s worst train crash in decades. the National Fire Fighting Agency reported “at least 48 dead” and 66 people taken to hospital.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s office said the head of state has ordered hospitals to prepare to take in many victims. “The top priority now is to rescue those stranded,” his office said in a statement.
A construction machine involved?
According to the authorities, the accident was caused by a construction machine which, after having slipped from an embankment, struck the train which was about to enter a tunnel near the town of Hualien, on the coast.
“There was a construction machine that had not been parked properly and slipped to the railroad tracks,” Tsai Ding-hsien, head of the Hualien County Police Department, told reporters. “This is our first conclusion and we are trying to clarify the cause of the incident,” he added.
On-site media photos show the back of a yellow flatbed truck lying on its side, near the train.
“The top priority is now to help those stranded”
President Tsai Ing-wen ordered hospitals to prepare to receive large numbers of victims. “The top priority now is to help those stranded,” the head of state’s office said in a statement.
The accident happened on Taiwan’s eastern rail line at around 9:30 a.m. (01:30 GMT) near the coastal city of Hualien. Images published by the website of the newspaper UDN show the front of the train, inside the tunnel, which has been pulverized and is nothing more than a pile of sheets.
In Taiwan Red Cross footage, rescuers with helmets and lamps walk on the roof of the crashed train inside the tunnel to reach survivors. By mid-afternoon, no one was still in the wagons.
“A sudden and violent shock”
Due to the earthquakes that regularly shake the island, Taiwan has experienced rescuers who are always ready to respond and help people who find themselves stranded during disasters.
The people who had taken their seats at the back of the train seem to have been relatively spared. Images posted on Facebook by the newspaper UDN’s website and filmed outside the tunnel show at least two undamaged cars and rescuers helping passengers out.
“I had the impression that there was a sudden and violent shock and I fell to the ground”, testified a woman on the channel. “We broke the window to climb on the roof of the train to get out.”
350 passengers on board
The train, which carried some 350 passengers and consisted of eight cars, linked Taipei to the town of Taitung, located in the southeast of the island.
The accident happened on the first day of the annual Tomb Sweeping Festival, a long public holiday weekend when Taiwan’s roads and railways are usually crowded.
During this period, the inhabitants generally return to their native village to clean the graves of their relatives and to make offerings.
Taiwan’s Eastern Railway Line is a popular tourist attraction located along the coastline, a beautiful area. By borrowing multiple tunnels and bridges, it winds through imposing mountains and very deep gorges before descending the valley of Huadong.
Friday’s accident was one of the worst rail disasters in Taiwan in decades.