HUALIEN COUNTY, Taiwan – Prosecutors in Taiwan on Saturday applied for an arrest warrant for the owner of an unmanned truck that fell on a railroad and caused the country’s worst train disaster in decades, killing 50 people and injuring 178.
The train was carrying 494 people at the beginning of a long holiday weekend on Friday, when it collided with the construction truck that slid down a slope above the tracks, the Taiwan Railway Administration said.
Many passengers were crushed just before the train entered a tunnel, while some survivors were forced to jump out of the windows and walk along the roof of the train safely.
Authorities initially reported 51 deaths, but revised the countdown to one on Saturday.
The truck’s emergency brake was not applied correctly, according to the government’s humanitarian aid center.
Yu Hsiu-duan, chief prosecutor in eastern Hualien County, where the train derailed, said he was seeking an arrest warrant for the owner of the truck, who was questioned along with several others. She did not offer details citing an ongoing investigation.
The district court in Hualien allowed the truck owner to post bail of 500,000 new Taiwanese dollars ($ 17,516), but he must remain in the county and avoid contact with any witnesses, the Taiwan Central News Agency reported.
President Tsai Ing-wen visited hospitals near the accident, rather than the location itself, so as not to interfere with rescue work, her spokesman said.
“This terrible accident caused many injuries and deaths. I came to Hualien today to visit the injured and express my condolences to the families of the deceased passengers,” said Tsai. “We will certainly help you in the aftermath.”
Tsai told reporters on Friday that he asked the Transport Safety Committee to conduct a rigorous investigation.
Transport Minister Lin Chia-lung said repairs would be speeded up.
“When such a thing happens, I’m sorry and I will take full responsibility,” said Lin after visiting the site.
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Workers cleared the two rearmost cars off the track on Saturday morning. However, a third could not be moved before the tracks were repaired, while the other five cars were still stuck in the tunnel. Two large construction cranes could be seen near the train in a remote area of a wooded cliff on the island’s east coast.
The operation is expected to be completed in a week, said Weng Hui-ping, head of the railway administration newsgroup. During repairs, all East Coast trains will run on tracks parallel to the one damaged in the accident, causing delays of 15 to 20 minutes, he said.
The National Fire Service said that among the dead were the newly married young driver and the assistant driver. The government’s disaster response center said it was the worst rail disaster since a train caught fire in 1948 in the suburb of Taipei, killing 64 people.
Train travel is popular during the four days of the Tomb Sweep holiday in Taiwan, when families often return to their hometowns to pay homage to the tombs of their elders.
Taiwan is a mountainous island and most of its 24 million inhabitants live on the plains along the north and west coasts, which are home to most of the island’s agricultural land, major cities and high-tech industries.
The sparsely populated east, where the accident occurred, is popular with tourists.