Dozens of people are feared dead after a packed train derailed inside a tunnel in eastern Taiwan on Friday at the start of a long holiday weekend, with rescuers still scrambling to reach others trapped inside.
Police said at least 36 people were classified as showing no signs of life when rescuers reached them in what looks set to be the island’s worst rail disaster in decades.
A further 70 people were still thought to be trapped in carriages inside the tunnel while around 60 were rushed to hospital.
Officials said the accident could have been caused by a maintenance vehicle sliding down an embankment and striking the train before it entered the tunnel near the coastal city of Hualien.
