[ti:Taiwan Train Crash Kills at Least 50 People]
[by:www.21voa.com]
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[00:00.04]A train carrying hundreds of people derailed in Taiwan(China) on Friday,
[00:06.28]killing at least 50 people.
[00:10.12]Officials say the train crashed into an unattended truck
[00:14.80]that had rolled down a hill onto the tracks.
[00:19.68]The National Fire Service said more than 100 people were injured in the crash
[00:26.24]-- Taiwan's worst railroad disaster in more than 70 years.
[00:33.20]It said the number of deaths was likely to rise.
[00:38.76]"People just fell all over each other, on top of one another,"
[00:43.28]a woman who survived the crash told a local television station.
[00:49.08]"It was terrifying. There were whole families there."
[00:54.64]Officials believe the train was carrying more than 400 people.
[01:00.36]Many passengers were tourists or people traveling to see family
[01:05.56]ahead of a yearly religious holiday.
[01:09.92]The train was traveling from the capital Taipei
[01:13.28]to the southeastern city of Taitung.
[01:17.08]Feng Hui-sheng is deputy director of the Taiwan Railways Administration.
[01:24.04]He told reporters the train derailed north of the eastern city of Hualien
[01:29.88]after hitting the truck, which rolled onto the tracks from a nearby building site.
[01:36.64]"At present it is suspected (that) the vehicle wasn't braked properly,
[01:41.84]and slid for around 20 meters along the site access road," Feng said.
[01:49.60]The official added that an investigation had been launched into the crash
[01:54.84]and police had questioned one person about the truck.
[01:59.96]Fire Service officials showed a picture of what appeared
[02:03.76]to be wreckage of the truck beside the derailed train.
[02:09.36]Survivors described their terror as the train hit the truck and stopped.
[02:16.80]"It suddenly came to a stop and then everything shook,"
[02:20.92]one survivor told local television. "It was all so chaotic."
[02:27.84]The crash happened as the train was entering a tunnel.
[02:33.04]Many passengers had to be led out of the tunnel to safety, railway officials said.
[02:40.48]Taiwan's mountainous east coast is popular with tourists.
[02:45.12]The railway that travels from Taipei down the coast is known for its tunnels.
[02:52.96]Taiwan's last major crash happened in 2018,
[02:57.52]when 18 people died and 175 were injured
[03:02.48]after a train derailed in the island's northeast.
[03:07.48]In 1948, 64 people were estimated to have died
[03:12.68]when a train caught fire in northern Taiwan.
[03:17.56]I'm Jonathan Evans. 更多听力请访问21VOA.COM