Dramatic videos captured the aftermath of the tragic Taiwan train crash that killed at least 51 people.
According to CNN, the train was a passenger train carrying 490 people. Dozens of people were injured in addition to the 51 deaths. CNN said the train was headed down the east side of Taiwan when a vehicle on a road above the railroad had a mishap of some kind. The construction truck “skidded down” the mountain, and the train hit it. The train is capable of going at 90 miles per hour. It hit the vehicle as it entered the tunnel, according to CNN.
Some people walked out of the train, but the driver was killed and more than 150 were injured. CNN reported that it was a tough terrain for rescues, especially because half of the train was still in the tunnel. The network said some passengers had to smash out windows with luggage to escape the derailed train.
Some videos showed people being rescued after the train derailed in a tunnel.
Here’s what you need to know:
Other Videos Showed the Aftermath of the Derailment
Other videos emerged showing the scene. Some videos showed people on stretchers.
NPR reported that the train was an express train.
“People just fell all over each other, on top of one another,” a woman who survived the crash told Reuters. “It was terrifying. There were whole families there.”
NPR reported that the truck that slid down the mountain was operated by the railway. “At present it is suspected because the vehicle wasn’t braked properly, it slid for around 20 meters along the site access road and entered the eastern trunk line,” Feng Hui-sheng, Taiwan Railways Administration deputy director, said, according to NPR.
According to South China Morning Post, the victims included the train’s engineer, Yuan Chun-hsiu, 33, and mechanic, Chiang Pei-feng, 32.
Some Videos Showed the Inside of the Tunnel
Videos emerged showing the inside of the tunnel. Some people died because train cars they were in slammed against the tunnel, crushing them, according to South China Morning Post.
According to that news site, the construction truck was left on the hill by the head of the site, 49-year-old Lee Yi-hsiang, and may have not been properly braked.
“We are investigating if the truck’s brakes had been put on properly or if there were other human or mechanical errors involved,” Feng Hui-sheng said, according to South China Morning Post.
According to the Guardian, one survivor said, “The train suddenly stopped and it started shaking, then the collision happened,” and another survivor said he was knocked unconscious and awoke to people using their phones for light. He said: “I could not bear to look. Many people were lying down,” he said.
The train had eight cars.
“Chairs were mangled, objects were scattered all over the floor, and blood was everywhere,” Lin Chi-feng told CNA. That site said that a rescue worker described a horrific scene with “scattered body parts and sounds of people crying in a crumpled train carriage.”
“It was heartbreaking to see so many children and infants die in the accident,” the rescuer told CNA.
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