At least 51 killed after train derails in tunnel in Taiwan

At least 51 people have been killed and over 100 injured after a packed express train crashed with a truck and derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan, according to officials.

This was the worst train crash on the island in at least 4 decades.

The eight-carriage train, on its way from Taipei to Taitung, came off the tracks at 9:28am (01:28 GMT) on Friday in a tunnel north of Hualien, according to the Taiwan Railways Administration (TAR). The service was busy enough that some people were forced to stand and thrown through the air as it derailed.

Images from the scene showed carriages in the tunnel torn apart by the impact, with others crumpled, hindering rescuers in their way to reach passengers. By mid-afternoon, however, no one was still trapped.

At the site, Transport Minister Lin Chia-lung informed reporters the train had been carrying about 490 people, higher than the earlier number of 350 provided by fire officials.

President Tsai Ing-wen visited an emergency response center in Taipei and said officials would get to the bottom of how such a deadly crash could have happened.

“We will definitely clarify the cause of the incident that has caused major casualties,” she informed reporters.