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Taiwan Investigates Train Derailment That Killed 18


Rescue workers tend to the injured at the site of a train derailment in Yilan county, northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018.
Rescue workers tend to the injured at the site of a train derailment in Yilan county, northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018.

Officials in Taiwan have launched an investigation into what caused a train derailment Sunday that killed at least 18 people and injured around 175 others.

President Tsai Ing-wen visited the accident site in the northeastern Yilan county on Monday where she met with family members of the victims.

The train carrying more than 360 passengers derailed on a popular coastal route on its way from a suburb of Taipei to the southeastern city of Taitung.

Some passengers interviewed by news agencies said they felt the Puyuma Express train was going too fast.

In this photo released by Taiwan Railways Administration, train carriages are scattered at the site of a train derailment in Yilan county northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018.
In this photo released by Taiwan Railways Administration, train carriages are scattered at the site of a train derailment in Yilan county northeastern Taiwan on Sunday, Oct. 21, 2018.

​All of the train's eight carriages derailed, and five of them were flipped over, according to a statement from the Taiwan Railways Administration.

Photos of the scene showed the train cars lying zig-zagged across the track.

Rescue efforts went into the night Sunday with workers using flashlights and cranes to move around and lift up the derailed cars.

The area was cleared enough Monday to allow rail service to resume.

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