Update: Death Toll Rises to 51 in Horror Taiwan Rail Crash

Taiwan has stepped up its investigation into its deadliest train crash in seven decades, which killed at least 51 people and injured more than 100.

Investigators have detained the driver of a crane truck that collided with the train as it was about to enter a tunnel, Taiwan News reported Saturday, citing the local prosecutor’s office. Police and investigators are still collecting evidence at the site, the report said.

The eight-coach Taroko Express crashed at a tunnel in Hualien County at around 9:30 a.m. on Friday, according to the National Fire Agency. There were 492 passengers in total, plus four staff, the Taiwan Railways Administration said. The train was heading south along the east coast to Taitung. Four of its coaches were mangled after hitting a wall.

Preliminary assessments showed that the truck fell from a position above the railway, according to the Transportation Safety Board. Investigators suspect that the driver of the truck, who wasn’t in it when the crash took place, didn’t engage the hand brake before parking the vehicle at a work site servicing a separate rail line on a hill adjacent to the tunnel, the Taipei Times reported.

The Taiwan Railways Administration is taking away the carriages outside the tunnel, with those inside difficult to remove for now, according to Central News Agency. Authorities hope to resume the line’s operation sooner than an earlier estimate of seven days, the agency said, citing Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung.

A Chinese mainland spokesperson on Friday expressed condolences and sympathy to the casualties, according to state newswire Xinhua.

"The mainland is highly concerned about the rescue progress," said Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.

Friday was the first day of the four-day Tomb Sweeping holiday, when many in Taiwan travel to be with family. Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen ordered relevant departments to offer their best rescue efforts, and instructed the transportation authority as well as Taiwan Railway to deal with impacted traffic arrangements, her office’s spokesperson Chang Tun-han said in a text message.

Taiwan last saw a major train derailment in October 2018, when the Puyuma Express came off the rails in northeastern Yilan county, killing 18 and injuring almost 200. Taiwan authorities said Friday’s crash was the worst since 1948, when 64 people were killed when a train caught fire in Taipei.

Bloomberg contributed reporting.

Contact editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)

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