Train crash kills 48 in Taiwan's deadliest rail tragedy for decades

Rescuers transfer a body at Xincheng railway station after a train derailed in a tunnel north of Hualien, Taiwan April 2, 2021. [Reuters]

A Taiwan express train with almost 500 aboard derailed in a tunnel yesterday after hitting a truck that had slid down a bank onto the track, killing at least 50 passengers and injuring 146 in the island’s worst rail disaster in seven decades.

Images from the scene showed some carriages ripped apart by the impact, with others crumpled, hindering rescuers in their efforts to reach passengers.