Tai President Tsai Ing-wen visits train crash injured

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen on Saturday visited a hospital in Hualien, where dozens were treated after being injured during a train derailment the day before.

On Friday, a train barreled into an unmanned truck that had rolled onto the track, leaving 51 people dead and 146 injured.

Many passengers were crushed, while some survivors were forced to climb out of windows and walk along the train’s roof to safety.

Tsai expressed her condolences to the families of the victims and thanked the international community for its messages of sympathy.

She added that the foreign ministry had contacted the families of the foreign passengers.

The train was carrying 494 people at the start of a long holiday weekend when it smashed into the construction truck that slid down a hillside above the tracks.

The truck’s emergency brake was not properly engaged, according to the government’s disaster relief center.

The district prosecutor's office in eastern Hualien County, where the train derailed, confirmed it had interviewed the truck owner, among others, but was not ready to file charges.