“I am deeply sorry and wish to express my sincere apologies,” truck driver Lee Yi-hsiang said on Sunday. “I will cooperate with the investigation by police and prosecutors to take appropriate responsibility.”
Lee was released on bail on Saturday, but the Hualien District Court later revoked his bail, citing the possibility that he could try to flee, cooperate with others or destroy evidence, the Taiwan-led Central News Agency (NAC) reported.
According to the NAC report, investigators are examining whether the crane truck’s brakes were not applied properly – either as a result of a mechanical failure or human negligence.
CEOC reviewed its death toll on Monday from 51 to 50. The train driver is among the dead, according to the Taiwan Fire Department.
According to CEOC, 163 of the injured were discharged and 37 are still being treated.
The government’s response
The train derailed in a tunnel just north of Hualien, causing several wagons to hit the tunnel wall and occurred just as a long weekend for the public holiday of Tomb Sweeping Day began.
The crash site is located just east of the picturesque Taroko National Park, a popular tourist destination on the island’s mountainous east coast.
Taiwan’s transport minister, Lin Chia-lung, offered to resign in a phone call with Taiwanese Prime Minister Su Tseng-chang on Sunday, saying he wanted to resign and take responsibility for the accident, CNA reported.
Cabinet spokesman Lo Ping-cheng told reporters that the Taiwanese prime minister congratulated Lin on his responsibility, but declined to discuss his resignation.
The government has already established a compensation plan for each passenger, which will receive NT $ 5.3 million ($ 185,500) granted to the families of each death. Those seriously injured will receive $ 91,000 each, and other injured passengers will receive $ 14,000, officials said.
Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen said on Friday that his government will “continue to do everything we can to ensure [passenger] safety following this heartbreaking incident. “
CNN’s Jessie Yeung, Joyce Huang, Rob Pichet, Reuters, Chandler Thornton, Zamira Rahim and Taipei journalist Andy Lee contributed to the reporting.