World

Dozens feared dead after train derails inside tunnel

April 2, 2021 5:47 pm

[Source: BBC]

Dozens of people are feared dead after a train carrying some 350 passengers derailed inside a tunnel in Taiwan.

Taiwan’s Central Emergency Operation centre says rescuers are struggling to access four carriages inside the tunnel that are “badly damaged”.

More than 72 people are injured said Reuters quoting the local transport ministry.

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The accident occurred at the start of the annual Tomb Sweeping festival, a typically high traffic period.

Pictures online have shown people in unaffected carriages walking along train tracks with their belongings.

“It felt like there was a sudden violent jolt and I found myself falling to the floor,” an unidentified female survivor told Taiwan’s UDN.

“We broke the window to climb to the roof of the train to get out.”

According to Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen, a number of people still remain trapped inside the train.