TAIPEI, Taiwan – At least 48 people are dead and dozens hurt after a train derailed in Taiwan, officials said.
According to The Associated Press, the incident occurred Friday as the passenger train partially emerged from a tunnel near Toroko Gorge in eastern Taiwan. An unmanned railway construction truck rolled down a hill onto the track, colliding with the train and causing it to derail, railway news officer Weng Hui-ping said.
In this image made from a video released by hsnews.com.tw, a passenger, center, is helped to climb out of a derailed train in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan on Friday, April 2, 2021.
In this image made from a video released by hsnews.com.tw, passengers are helped to climb out of a derailed train in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan on Friday, April 2, 2021.
An aerial view shows rescue workers at the site where a train derailed inside a tunnel in the mountains of Hualien, eastern Taiwan on April 2, 2021.
In this photo released by National Fire Agency, rescue vehicles are seen near the site of a partial train derailment in Toroko Gorge in Taiwan’s eastern Hualien region, Friday, April 2, 2021.
An aerial view shows rescue workers at the site where a train derailed inside a tunnel in the mountains of Hualien, eastern Taiwan on April 2, 2021.
In this photo released by National Fire Agency, rescue workers are seen near the site of a partial train derailment in Toroko Gorge in Taiwan’s eastern Hualien region, Friday, April 2, 2021.
In this photo released by National Fire Agency, rescue workers are seen near the site of a partial train derailment in Toroko Gorge in Taiwan’s eastern Hualien region, Friday, April 2, 2021.
In this image made from a video released by hsnews.com.tw, a passenger walks along a derailed train in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan on Friday, April 2, 2021.
In this image made from a video released by Ministry of Interior, National Fire Department, a train is stranded in a tunnel in Hualien County in eastern Taiwan on Friday, April 2, 2021.
In addition to the four dozen killed, at least 100 of the 400-plus people aboard the train were injured, the news agency reported.
“In response to a train derailment in Hualien, Taiwan, our emergency services have been fully mobilized to rescue and assist the passengers and railway staff affected,” Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said in a statement shared on Twitter. “We will continue to do everything we can to ensure their safety in the wake of this heartbreaking incident.”
No further information was immediately available about the crash, which occurred during an annual religious holiday, the Tomb Sweeping Festival, the AP reported. Many Taiwanese residents travel for the four-day holiday, according to the news agency.
– The Associated Press contributed to this report.
