Train derailment kills 18 people and injures 160 in Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan – Eighteen people were killed and at least 160 injured on Sunday, when one of Taiwan's newest and fastest trains derailed in a bend along a popular road of the day. weekend, officials said.

The express train Puyuma was carrying more than 366 passengers from a suburb of Taipei to Taitung, a town on the southeast coast of Taiwan, when it left the railway at 4:50 pm, the government announced central Taiwan in a statement.

The office of the spokesman for the Cabinet, quoted by the National Fire Agency, reportedly said 18 people had been killed and 160 wounded.

Some passengers were crushed to death, said Defense Ministry spokesman Chen Chung-chi. "Their car was returned, they were crushed, so they died instantly," Chen said.

The soldiers removed the bodies to identify them, he added.

Photos taken at the scene just south of Luodong City showed the eight cars of the train in a zigzag formation near the tracks. Five of the cars are flipped to the sides.

Most of the dead were in the first car, which rocked, said a government spokesman.

It was unclear how many people could still be stuck on the train, said the spokesman, who requested anonymity. Some 120 soldiers joined firefighters in their rescue work.

On a live stream provided by Taiwan 's United Daily News, rescuers were seen taking with care what appeared to be a body wrapped in white plastic, away from the site.

According to reports from local television, passengers were trying to escape through the windows of the trains and passersby had gathered to help them before the arrival of the rescuers.

The Puyuma was launched in 2013 to manage the very difficult topography of the east coast of Taiwan and is distinguished from the high speed train that runs on the west coast. Trains travel up to 150 kilometers at the time, faster than any other in Taiwan, with the exception of the high-speed train.

The train that derailed at 6 years old and his last inspection as well as the major maintenance work took place in 2017, said Lu Chie-shen, director of the Taiwan Railways Administration, during the meeting. a televised press conference.

The authorities are investigating the cause of the derailment.