Prosecutors in Taiwan stated Saturday they questioned the proprietor of an unmanned truck that rolled onto a rail observe and precipitated the nation’s worst prepare catastrophe in many years that killed 51 individuals and injured 146, although no prices have been filed.The prepare was carrying 494 individuals in the beginning of a protracted vacation weekend on Friday when it smashed into the development truck that slid down a hillside above the tracks, the Taiwan Railways Administration stated. Many passengers had been crushed simply earlier than the prepare entered a tunnel, whereas some survivors had been compelled to climb out of home windows and stroll alongside the prepare’s roof to security.The truck’s emergency brake was not correctly engaged, in keeping with the federal government’s catastrophe aid heart.The district prosecutor’s workplace in japanese Hualien County, the place the prepare derailed, confirmed it had interviewed the truck proprietor, amongst others, however was not able to file prices. Prosecutorial workers had been visiting a mortuary Saturday to look at the our bodies, workplace spokeswoman Chou Fang-yi stated.President Tsai Ing-wen was because of go to the positioning later Saturday.”We now have requested the Transportation Security Committee to conduct a strict investigation of the accident, and after absolutely clarifying the reason for the accident, we’ll clarify it to everybody,” Tsai informed reporters Friday.”We’re asking passengers to forgive us for any delays,” she stated.Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung stated repairs shall be accelerated.”When such a factor occurs, I really feel very sorry and I’ll take full duty,” Lin stated after touring the positioning.Taiwan Railways Administration chief Chi Wen-chung stated his crew had efficiently eliminated the primary derailed carriage out of the positioning.Two massive building cranes might be seen drawn up subsequent to the prepare, as employees examined and eliminated some components in a distant wooded cliff space on the island’s east coast.Restore work additionally was underway on the tracks together with the tunnel the place a part of the eight-car prepare crashed. The operation ought to be performed inside per week, stated Weng Hui-ping, head of the railway administration’s information group. Through the repairs, all east coast trains will run on a observe parallel to the one broken within the accident, inflicting delays of 15 to twenty minutes, he stated.The Nationwide Fireplace Service confirmed the loss of life toll — which included the prepare’s younger, newly married driver and the assistant driver — and stated greater than 100 individuals had been injured. The federal government’s catastrophe response heart stated it was the worst rail catastrophe in 73 years.Prepare journey is well-liked throughout Taiwan’s four-day Tomb Sweeping vacation, when households typically return to hometowns to pay respects on the gravesites of their elders.Taiwan is a mountainous island, and most of its 24 million individuals reside within the flatlands alongside the northern and western coasts which can be residence to many of the island’s farmland, largest cities and high-tech industries. The calmly populated east the place the crash occurred is well-liked with vacationers, a lot of whom journey there by prepare to keep away from mountain roads.___Jennings reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
Prosecutors in Taiwan stated Saturday they questioned the proprietor of an unmanned truck that rolled onto a rail observe and precipitated the nation’s worst prepare catastrophe in many years that killed 51 individuals and injured 146, although no prices have been filed.
The prepare was carrying 494 individuals in the beginning of a protracted vacation weekend on Friday when it smashed into the development truck that slid down a hillside above the tracks, the Taiwan Railways Administration stated. Many passengers had been crushed simply earlier than the prepare entered a tunnel, whereas some survivors had been compelled to climb out of home windows and stroll alongside the prepare’s roof to security.
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The truck’s emergency brake was not correctly engaged, in keeping with the federal government’s catastrophe aid heart.
The district prosecutor’s workplace in japanese Hualien County, the place the prepare derailed, confirmed it had interviewed the truck proprietor, amongst others, however was not able to file prices. Prosecutorial workers had been visiting a mortuary Saturday to look at the our bodies, workplace spokeswoman Chou Fang-yi stated.
President Tsai Ing-wen was because of go to the positioning later Saturday.
“We now have requested the Transportation Security Committee to conduct a strict investigation of the accident, and after absolutely clarifying the reason for the accident, we’ll clarify it to everybody,” Tsai informed reporters Friday.
“We’re asking passengers to forgive us for any delays,” she stated.
Transportation Minister Lin Chia-lung stated repairs shall be accelerated.
“When such a factor occurs, I really feel very sorry and I’ll take full duty,” Lin stated after touring the positioning.
Taiwan Railways Administration chief Chi Wen-chung stated his crew had efficiently eliminated the primary derailed carriage out of the positioning.
Two massive building cranes might be seen drawn up subsequent to the prepare, as employees examined and eliminated some components in a distant wooded cliff space on the island’s east coast.
Restore work additionally was underway on the tracks together with the tunnel the place a part of the eight-car prepare crashed. The operation ought to be performed inside per week, stated Weng Hui-ping, head of the railway administration’s information group. Through the repairs, all east coast trains will run on a observe parallel to the one broken within the accident, inflicting delays of 15 to twenty minutes, he stated.
The Nationwide Fireplace Service confirmed the loss of life toll — which included the prepare’s younger, newly married driver and the assistant driver — and stated greater than 100 individuals had been injured. The federal government’s catastrophe response heart stated it was the worst rail catastrophe in 73 years.
Prepare journey is well-liked throughout Taiwan’s four-day Tomb Sweeping vacation, when households typically return to hometowns to pay respects on the gravesites of their elders.
Taiwan is a mountainous island, and most of its 24 million individuals reside within the flatlands alongside the northern and western coasts which can be residence to many of the island’s farmland, largest cities and high-tech industries. The calmly populated east the place the crash occurred is well-liked with vacationers, a lot of whom journey there by prepare to keep away from mountain roads.
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Jennings reported from Taipei, Taiwan.
