More than 20 dead after train derails in north-eastern Taiwan
Taiwan railways chief says cause of accident remains unknown
TAIPEI: At least 22 people are dead and 160 injured after a train derailed in north-eastern Taiwan yesterday, the authorities said.
Several carriages were overturned in the crash - which occurred in Yilan county, near the coast on a line popular among tourists - reported Reuters.
The government said the train had been carrying 366 people, and the Central News Agency said more than 30 were still trapped on board.
FLIPPED
Images from the site showed the Puyuma Express train lying zigzag across the track. All of the train's eight carriages had derailed and five had flipped onto their side at Xinma station, the railways administration said, AFP reported.
A passenger identified only by his surname Ko told Apple Daily that he heard sounds before a plume of smoke rose from the tracks. Many things then fell from the overhead compartments as the carriage he was in tilted by about 10 degrees.
Mr Ko said he and a friend managed to escape unscathed.
Passenger Chen He-ren, told Central News Agency the train shook violently moments before it derailed. He added that the train braked several times on the tracks inexplicably before the accident happened.
Footage on local TV showed rescuers and dozens of military personnel working through the wreckage on Sunday night in search of survivors, with ambulances stationed nearby, The Straits Times reported.
The authorities were also checking to see if any foreigners were on board.
"We will use all our strength and efforts for the rescue," President Tsai Ing-wen wrote on her Facebook page.
Services in both directions along the route have been suspended following the mishap.
At a press conference late on Sunday, Taiwan Railways Administration chief Lu Chieh-shen said the cause of the derailment was as yet unknown and would be investigated.
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