TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) – The owner of a construction truck that caused the worst railway accident in Taiwan in decades, killing 48 people, apologized in tears as police were driven home on Sunday. The emergency brake on the unmanned truck was not applied properly, according to the government’s disaster relief center.
An investigation is underway into the exact manner in which Lee Yi-Hsiang’s vehicle slipped on rails on Friday from a nearby construction site on the mountainous east coast of Hualien County. The truck was hit by a passenger train carrying 494 people, which derailed just before entering a tunnel, crushing many passengers inside the train cars.
The death toll was revised to 48 on Sunday, after rescuers initially said 51, then 50 people were killed. The changes came after it was found that some parts of the body belonged to a single person, said a spokesman for the Central Emergency Operations Center. At least 198 people were injured.
“I caused a serious accident on the Taroko train of the Taiwanese railway administrations, number 480, during this year’s funeral, causing deaths and injuries, for which I express my remorse and my sincere apologies,” said Lee, who is, also the yard manager, his words muffled by a face mask and emotion. “I will cooperate fully with the authorities’ investigation and take responsibility.”
Hualien County prosecutors have previously said they are looking for an arrest warrant for the truck owner, who was questioned along with several others.
The Hualien District Court initially allowed Lee to bail a new $ 500,000 in Taiwan (US $ 17,516), but that decision was overturned on Sunday, when a Hualien higher court overturned the lower court’s decision to allow bail. reported the Central News Agency of Taiwan.
Train travel is popular during the four-day holiday of the Taiwanese grave, when families often return to their hometowns to pay homage to the graves of their elders. It is also an opportunity to take a vacation.
Taiwan is a mountainous island, and most of its 24 million people live in the plains along the northern and western coasts, which are home to most of the island’s agricultural land, major cities and high-tech industries. The slightly populated east where the accident took place is popular as a tourist destination, and the railway line is known for its beautiful natural landscape.