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Express derailment
leaves 17 injured
SAVING THE DAY: The TRA said that the number of
casualties was reduced to a minimum because the driver handled the emergency
situation appropriately
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Soldiers clear the area around
Tzuchiang Express train No. 302, which derailed after running into a mudslide in
Pingtung County yesterday.
Photo: CNA
Taiwan Railway Administration
workers clear the area around Tzuchiang Express train No. 302 which derailed
after running into a mudslide in Pingtung County yesterday.
Photo: CNA
A Tzuchiang Express train derailed in
Pingtung County early yesterday following a mudslide, leaving 17 passengers
injured, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said.
Thirteen sustained minor injuries and were discharged from the hospital, but
three passengers and the train driver remained hospitalized in a stable
condition yesterday, the TRA said.
The accident took place at 7:26am when the Tzuchiang Express train No. 302,
which was traveling at 90kph, hit the mudslide at a tunnel entrance on the South
Link Railway (南迴鐵路), near Pingtung County’s Fangliao (枋寮), the TRA said.
The TRA quoted the train driver surnamed Ho (何) as saying that, before entering
the tunnel, he saw the mudslide washing down a slope and immediately applied his
brakes.
Injuries were minimized because the driver handled the situation appropriately,
it added.
“There were just a few seconds before I saw the mudslide ... it was raining very
hard,” Ho said, adding that his vision was impaired as the train had emerged
from another tunnel just before the incident.
The train slid for three to four seconds before hitting the mudslide.
“I didn’t even have time to scream before I was flung from my seat,” he said.
About 250 passengers were on the train, which was traveling from Taitung to
Kaohsiung.
The injured were sent to Logefeil Memorial Hospital and Mackay Memorial
Hospital’s Taitung branch for treatment, the TRA said.
TRA Deputy Director-General Lu Chieh-shen (鹿潔身) said the TRA has slope stability
monitoring systems along the South Link Railway, but not at the location where
the accident took place.
Soldiers, Taiwan High Speed Rail workers and TRA personnel were called to help
clear the site, he said, adding that the TRA hopes to restore services by
tomorrow.
The TRA said it has also dispatched 20 shuttle buses to run between Fangliao and
Dawu (大武) and passengers can get ticket refunds at any station within 15 days.
Additional reporting by Chen Hsien-i, AFP and staff writer with CNA
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