Taiwan Train Crash: Train Derails Near Taroko Gorge ~ Life News

Previous crashes. In 2018, Taiwan suffered its last major train crash in Yilan County, which killed 18 and injured 187 people. Prior to that, 30 were killed in a train crash in Miaoli County in 1991.HUALIEN COUNTY, Taiwan >> Prosecutors in Taiwan said Saturday they questioned the owner of an unmanned truck that rolled onto a rail track and caused the country's worst train disaster inTaiwan's last major rail crash was in October 2018, when an express train derailed while rounding a tight corner on the northeast coast, killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.At least 48 people died in Taiwan after a vehicle rolled down a hill and hit a passing train on Friday, causing it to partially derail outside a tunnel. Dozens of people were injured. The train had partially emerged from the tunnel, with many cars remaining inside. Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted that emergency services "have been fully mobilized to rescue & assist the passengersTaiwan's last major rail crash was in October 2018 when an express train derailed while rounding a tight corner on the northeast coast, killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.

Taiwan prosecutors probe train crash that killed 51

Taiwan's last major rail crash was in October 2018 when an express train derailed while rounding a tight corner on the northeast coast, killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.Taiwan's last major rail crash was in October 2018, when an express train derailed while rounding a tight corner on the northeast coast, killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.The death toll in the horrific passenger train crash in Taiwan on Friday climbed to at least 49, with 66 injured, after it struck an unmanned vehicle that had rolled down a hill, according to repor…Taiwan train crash kills at least 50 people, leaves dozens injured Sixty-six people had been sent to the hospital, officials said, as the island faced its worst rail disaster in decades after the

Taiwan train crash: At least 48 killed when truck plunges

World Taiwan Train Crash At least 48 people have been killed and more than 150 others injured in a train crash in eastern Taiwan, which police believe was caused by a construction vehicle rollingTaiwan's last major rail crash was in October 2018 when an express train derailed while rounding a tight corner on the northeast coast, killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.Prosecutors in Taiwan have questioned the owner of an unmanned truck that rolled onto a rail track and caused the country's worst train disaster in decades that killed 51 people and injured 146A busy passenger train carrying 490 people has derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan, killing at least 51 and injuring dozens more, authorities said.Taiwan's last major rail crash was in October 2018 when an express train derailed while rounding a tight corner on the northeast coast, killing at least 18 people and injuring nearly 200.

At least 50 people were killed and dozens more injured when a train derailed while partially inside a tunnel in Taiwan on Friday.

The National Fire Service confirmed the death toll and said 66 people had been sent to hospital as the island faced its worst rail disaster in decades. It earlier said 51 people had been confirmed dead.

The train's young, newly married driver and the assistant driver were among the dead, the National Fire Service said.

"Many people were crushed under train seats in the collision. And there were other people on top of the seats. So those at the bottom were pressed and crushed and lost consciousness," a passenger with gauze taped to her elbow told Taiwanese broadcaster EBC, which did not show her face or give her name.

"At the beginning, they still responded when we called them. But I guess they lost consciousness afterward."

Taiwan's Red Cross said it was helping to free passengers trapped in the crash.

"We will continue to do everything we can to ensure their safety in the wake of this heartbreaking incident," Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen said on Twitter.

Images of the crash scene show some carriages ripped apart from the impact while others crumpled, hindering rescuers from reaching passengers.

Pictures showed passengers clambering out of windows and over the sides of the train to safety as rescue efforts continued at the crash site north of Hualien in eastern Taiwan.

April 2, 202101:23

The train had 8 carriages and was carrying around 350 people and was thought to include many tourists and people heading home at the start of a long holiday weekend, the fire department said.

The accident came on the first day of the annual Tomb Sweeping Festival, which lasts four days and sees people travel to their hometowns to pay respects at the graves of their ancestors and gather with family.

The Taroko express service traveling from the capital Taipei to the country's southeast coast came off the rails while part of it was inside a tunnel, hitting the tunnel walls after apparently colliding with a truck that had slid off a road from a nearby construction site.

The official Central News Agency said the truck was suspected to have slid off the sloping road outside the tunnel and into the path of the train as its handbrake had not been engaged. The fire department showed a picture of what appeared to be the truck's wreckage next to the derailed train.

Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics

"Our train crashed into a truck," one man said in a video on Taiwan television that showed pictures of the wreckage. "The truck came falling down."

Taiwan is a mountainous island where most of its 24 million people are squeezed onto flatlands along the northern and western coasts. The lightly populated east is popular with tourists, many of whom arrive along the coastal railway lines to avoid treacherous mountain roads.

The railway line from Taipei down the east coast is renowned for its tunnels and route that hugs the coast just north of Hualien where the crash occurred.

Taiwan's extensive rail system has undergone substantial upgrades in recent years, particularly with the addition of a high-speed line connecting the capital Taipei with cities to the south.

The state-owned railways are generally reliable and efficient, but have had a patchy safety record over the years.

In 2018, 18 people died and 175 were injured when a train derailed in the island's northeast. In 1981, 30 were killed in a collision in its north, while a train crash in 1991 killed 30.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Max Burman

Max Burman is a news and homepage editor for NBC News.

The Associated Press contributed.