Taiwan train turns turtle, leaves 22 dead, 171 injured

The train was carrying more than 366 passengers from a suburb of Taipei in the north to Taitung, a city on Taiwan’s southeast coast, when it went off the tracks at 4:50 p.m., the Taiwan central government said in a statement.

The National Fire Agency cited the Cabinet spokesman’s office as saying 22 people were killed and 171 injured in the disaster.

A general view at the site of a train derailment in Yilan in northern Taiwan on Sunday. (AP)

Some passengers were crushed to death, Ministry of National Defense spokesman Chen Chung-chi said.

“Their train car turned over. They were crushed, so they died right away,” Chen said.

Soldiers removed bodies to identify them, he added, but nightfall complicated the rescue work. Photos from the scene just south of the city of Luodong showed the train’s cars in a zig-zag formation near the tracks. Five of the cars are turned over on their sides.

Most of the deaths were in the first car, which flipped over, a government spokesman said.

It was unclear how many people may still be trapped in the train, said the spokesman, who spoke on customary condition of anonymity. Some 120 soldiers joined firefighters in their rescue work.

Rescuers search an overturned train in Yilan, Taiwan October 21, 2018. (REUTERS/Lee Kun Han)

On a live feed provided by Taiwan’s United Daily News, rescuers were seen carefully carrying what appeared to be a body wrapped in white plastic away from the site.

Local television reports said passengers were trying to escape through train windows and that bystanders had gathered to help them before rescuers arrived.

The Puyuma was launched in 2013 to handle the very difficult topography of Taiwan’s east coast and is distinct from the high-speed rail that runs on the west coast. The Puyuma trains travel up to 150 kilometers (93 miles) per hour, faster than any other in Taiwan except for the high-speed rail.

The train that derailed had its most recent inspection and major maintenance work in 2017, Taiwan Railways Administration Director Lu Chie-shen said at a televised news conference.

Authorities are investigating the cause of the derailment.