Taiwan train crash leaves 36 dead, several injured
- par Amanda Heroux
- dans Science
- — Avr 2, 2021
The express train that derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan was manufactured by Hitachi Ltd. and started operations in May 2007 as Taiwan's first tilting rail auto, the major Japanese conglomerate said.
"This is our initial understanding and we are clarifying the cause of the incident", he added.
Most other people on the train have been rescued though rescuers are searching wrecked cars for "several people" who may be stuck in awkward places, railways news officer Weng Hui-ping said.
The accident occurred on Taiwan's eastern railway line around 9:30am (0130 GMT).
People further back in the train were able to walk away from the crash comparatively unscathed.
The fire department showed a picture of what appeared to be the truck's wreckage lying next to the derailed train, and an aerial image of the end of the train sitting on the track next to a construction site.
Television footage and photos posted by people at the scene on the website of the official Central News Agency showed people climbing out the open door of a railcar just outside the entrance to the tunnel.
"It felt like there was a sudden violent jolt and I found myself falling to the floor", an unidentified female survivor told the network, saying she suffered a cut to her head.
The train had only partially emerged from the tunnel, and with much of it still inside, escaping passengers were forced to scale doors, windows and roofs to reach safety.
There were reportedly 350 passengers on board-many of whom were traveling for the four-day Tomb Sweeping Festival.
During the festival, people return to ancestral villages to tidy up the graves of their relatives and make offerings.
Friday's crash looks set to be one of Taiwan's worst railway accidents in recent decades.
The Japanese government said Friday the country is ready to consider helping Taiwan if requested following a deadly train accident on the island that resulted in dozens of casualties.
Local media say the eight-carriage train hit a construction vehicle that had slipped onto the tracks.
Taiwan is a mountainous island where most of its 24 million people are squeezed onto flatlands along the northern and western coasts.
A rescue team helps stranded passengers down from the roof of the train.
