TAIPEI – The derailment of a passenger train in Taiwan killed at least 50 people and injured more than 180 on Friday in the island’s deadliest railway incident in at least four decades.
The express train, traveling from the Taipei area and heading south across eastern Taiwan to Taitung, was transporting almost 500 people, including railroad workers, when it left the tracks at around 9:30 am in a tunnel near the panoramic area of Hualien , causing some carriages to hit the tunnel walls, local officials said. The train, the Taroko Express, is capable of reaching speeds of around 80 miles per hour.
As of 6 pm on Saturday, 51 people, including two train drivers, two Americans and a French passenger, were pronounced dead in the incident, while 188 wounded were taken to hospitals, according to authorities. On Friday night, firefighters rescued all remaining passengers.
“I share the sadness with my countrymen,” said Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen on Friday afternoon. She said the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the incident and asked the public to refrain from excessive speculation and wait for the final results of the investigation.
A preliminary investigation published by the Taiwan Central Emergency Operations Center on Friday indicated that the eight-car train hit a construction vehicle that had stopped on the tracks.