Bloomberg News
@Bloomberg-News·2.8M subscribers·40.1K videos
Taiwan Crash: Dozens Killed as High-Speed Train Derails
Posted
April 2, 2021
Views
62,807
Likes
353
Comments
206
Engagement
0.89%
April 2, 2021
62,807
353
206
0.89%
Every word spoken in this episode is indexed. Type any phrase to jump straight to the moment it was said.
Type any word or phrase that may have been spoken. Click a result to seek the player to that exact moment.
Try a name, a topic, or a quoted line
1:06Now PlayingA passenger train derailed on the east coast of Taiwan, killing 51 people including two drivers and injuring more than 100 in the deadliest train accident in decades.
The eight-coach Taroko Express crashed at a tunnel in Hualien County at around 9:30 a.m., according to the National Fire Agency. There were 492 passengers in total, plus four staff, the Taiwan Railways Administration said. The train was heading south along the east coast to Taitung. Four coaches of the train were mangled after hitting a wall.
Friday is the first day of the four-day Tomb Sweeping holiday, when many in Taiwan travel to be with family. The island last saw a major train derailment in October 2018, when the Puyuma Express came off the rails in eastern Yilan country, killing 18 and injuring almost 200.
Preliminary assessments showed that a maintenance truck fell from a position above the railway and might be to blame for Friday’s tragedy, according to the TRA. The Taroko express hit the truck, which may have been parked without the hand brake being engaged, although further investigation is needed, the Transportation Safety Board said.
“It’s regrettable that an accident happened on the first day of holidays, leading to heavy casualties. I share the sorrow with fellow countrymen,” President Tsai Ing-wen said at a briefing in Taipei, adding that government continues to offer its best rescue efforts.
Tsai has instructed the transportation ministry as well as Taiwan Railway to deal with impacted traffic arrangements.
Rescuers found 146 people, including 2 from Japan and 1 from Macau, seriously or slightly injured and sent them to the hospital for treatment, according to the TRA. It’s expected to take about a week for the line to resume operation, while the TRA currently deploys another line for two-way traffic in eastern Taiwan.
“Taiwan Railways Administration had implemented over 100 items of reform since Puyuma accident in 2018, but obviously it is not enough,” said Lin Chia-lung, Minister of Transportation and Communications, in a statement, adding that “I will surely shoulder all political responsibility.”
Subscribe to our YouTube channel
Bloomberg Quicktake brings you live global news and original shows spanning business, technology, politics and culture. Make sense of the stories changing your business and your world.
To watch complete coverage on Bloomberg Quicktake 24/7, visit or watch on Apple TV, Roku, Samsung Smart TV, Fire TV and Android TV on the Bloomberg app.
Have a story to tell? Fill out this survey for a chance to have it featured on Bloomberg Quicktake
Connect with us on…
Breaking News on YouTube
Sentinel Indexing in Progress
Metadata and chapters are available. Claim extraction for this episode is pending.
All video content is delivered via YouTube embedded players in accordance with the YouTube Terms of Service. Sentinel provides research tools that promote discovery and accountability across political media.
