Identification of Taiwan train accident victims continue

TAIPEI: Taiwanese authorities on Sunday continued the identification process of victims killed in the deadly train derailment in Hualien county, according to the Central Emergency Operation Centre (CEOC). On Friday morning, the Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) No. 408 Taroko train en route from Shulin, New Taipei, to Taitung, suddenly derailed as it entered the Daqingshui tunnel,

The TRA said the derailment involved a maintenance truck which slid from a slope near a construction site above the rail track.

The from of the eight-carriage train with 492 passengers and four crew members hit the vehicle shortly before entering a tunnel, dpa news agency quoted officials as saying.

On Saturday, a construction site manager believed to have failed to engage the vehicle's brake properly was released by a district court on bail of 500,000 Taiwan dollars ($17,516) and is not allowed to leave the country.

Due to a protest by prosecutors, the high court ruled on Sunday that the district court has to review the decision. The CEOC on Sunday revised the number of passengers on board from 492 to 494. Four crew members included the deceased driver and his assistant.

It said that 48 victims have been identified and DNA profiling has been adopted to speed up the identification. The victims included young children, a 27-year-old French man, and two US nationals. Up-to-date statistics released on Sunday show the accident left at least 200 injured. "Currently, 45 of the injured continue to receive treatment in hospital, including three under intensive care," Deputy Minister of Transportation and Communications Wang Kwo-tsai said. Injured foreigners include two Japanese, a Chinese and an Australian, according to the CEOC. (IANS)

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