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TAIPEI (Reuters) – At least 18 people have died and 160 were injured when a train derailed Sunday in northeastern Taiwan, authorities said.
Rescuers tend to injure passengers after a train derailment in Yilan, Taiwan, on October 21, 2018. Military News Agency / Handout via REUTERS
Several cars were spilled in the accident, occurred in Yilan County, near the coast, on a popular tourist line.
The government said the train was carrying 366 people, and the Central News Agency said more than 30 people were still stuck on board.
Images from local television showed rescuers and dozens of soldiers working in the wreckage Sunday night looking for survivors, ambulances stationed nearby.
The balance sheet at 19:45 was 18 dead and 160 wounded, announced the fire department in a statement.
"We will use all our strength and all our efforts for the rescue," Tsai Ing-wen wrote on his Facebook page.
An investigation is under way to determine the cause of the accident, announced the administration of the Taiwanese railways. "The train was in pretty good shape," said his deputy chief Lu Chieh-Shen at a press conference.
The authority also checked if strangers were on board.
The derailment took place weeks before the local elections on the island, seen as an important indicator of the performance of the ruling Tsai party in the 2020 presidential elections.
Report by Jess Macy Yu, Yimou Lee and Taipei Office; Edited by David Goodman and John Stonestreet
