A spokesperson from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council on Friday expressed condolence over the tragic accident in the island of Taiwan where a passenger train hit a construction vehicle and derailed on Friday morning, killing at least 48.
And, casualties are likely to climb as some are seriously injured.
The mainland is highly concerned about the accident and following the progress of the follow-up rescue efforts, said Ma Xiaoguang in Beijing on Friday, who is a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council.
The 408 Taroko Express carrying 350 passengers in hit a construction vehicle and derailed in a tunnel near Hualian in eastern Taiwan. As of press time, at least 48 people were killed including the train driver, and more than 110 injured in the tragic accident, some of whom remaining in critical or serious state.
The 7-8th carriages of the train were the most severely deformed, and the rescues operation is still underway late Friday.
The accident could have been caused by a construction vehicle sliding along the slope near the tunnel, hitting the moving train, local media suggested.
The construction vehicle was suspected to have slipped from the slope onto the rail track without pulling its brake, causing the train, which had just come out of the tunnel, to derail, because the moving train did not have enough time to react, according to media reports.
It wasn’t the first time for such a distressful accident to happen on the island. On October 21, 2018, the Puyuma express train No.6432 bound for Taitung from Shulin Station veered off its track with 370 passengers on board, causing 18 people deaths and 270 injuries.
Photo:VCG
