President Tsai Ing-wen has begun organizing the government’s response to Taiwan’s deadliest-ever train accident, which left 48 dead on Friday morning.
Tsai issued officials with four instructions: to devote themselves to the rescue of survivors, to set up an emergency medical response team capable of treating large numbers of injured victims, to respond to disruptions to the transportation network, and to launch a complete inquiry into the cause of the accident.
Initial reports say the accident happened at around 9:30 on Friday morning as a southbound Taroko Express train began to go into a tunnel in eastern Taiwan. Before the train had fully entered the tunnel, a construction truck rolled down a slope onto the tracks, colliding with the train and causing it to derail.