At least 48 people have died after a train derailed in a tunnel in eastern Taiwan on Friday.
The train, packed with about 350 passengers, had reportedly hit a maintenance truck in what has been described as the island’s worst rail disaster in at least four decades.
According to local police, the truck slid down an embankment and struck the train before it entered the tunnel, however this is still being investigated.
Rescuers are still scrambling to reach those trapped inside, while others crawled out of windows to safety.
The eight-carriage express train was travelling from Taipei to Taitung about 9.30am, carrying tourists at the start of a long weekend, when it came off the rails north of Hualien in eastern Taiwan, Taiwan’s transportation ministry said.
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President Tsai Ing-wen’s office said she had ordered hospitals to prepare for a mass casualty event.
“In response to a train derailment in Hualien, Taiwan, our emergency services have been fully…