Police are looking into possibility that the train collided with an unmanned truck resulting in the death of at least 50 passengers and dozens more injured after a train derailed inside a tunnel in eastern Taiwan.
The government has laid out a compensation plan for every passenger, which will see NT$5.3 million ($185,500) provided to the families of each fatality.
AT least 50 people were killed and dozens more injured after a passenger train derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan on Friday (April 2) after reportedly hitting an unmanned wayward truck.
The train carrying 490 passengers came off the rails in a tunnel just short of Hualien, causing several carriages to hit the wall of the tunnel, according to authorities.
At least 156 people are injured in the crash, with 69 rushed to hospitals in the surrounding area, the local fire department said.
Police are looking for a construction site manager near the tunnel after reports indicated that the derailment was caused by the train colliding with a truck which slid down a bank next to the track from the construction site.
Among the dead include the train driver and a French national.
The government has laid out a compensation plan for every passenger, which will see NT$5.3 million ($185,500) provided to the families of each fatality.
Those badly injured will each receive $91,000 and other injured passengers will receive $14,000, officials said.
The accident occurred as Taiwanese prepare for the Tomb Sweeping Day public holiday, where locals traditionally pay their respects to deceased family members.
The crash was the worst rail accident in Taiwan’s history, after 18 died when a train derailed in the northeastern part of the country in 2018. (ONT)
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