At least 18 killed, 168 injured after express train derails in Taiwan

Train carriages are scattered at the site of a train derailment in Lian in northern Taiwan. Photos / AP

At least 18 people are dead and 168 injured after an express train in Taiwan derailed, flipping and toppling carriages onto their sides, AP and AFP reported. The tragedy is the island's worst train accident in decades.

The Puyuma Express train, commonly used by tourists, was en route from Shulin to Taitung with 366 passengers on board. The derailment occurred around 5 pm local time in Lian county in northern Taiwan, along a curve.

Taiwan Railways Administration's Jason Lu said all eight carriages derailed and five flipped, and that there were "four carriages that were overturned at 90 degrees and the worst casualties were in those carriages," according to AFP.

The cause of the accident is still unknown, though survivors described extreme shaking and electrical outages throughout the final ride.

"All of a sudden, I found myself being thrown out of my seat and some other passengers were flipped out of the windows," a former soldier told cable television network SET, according to the South China Morning Post.

AP reported that the Taiwanese Government previously put the death toll as high as 22, but "the National Fire Agency, citing the Cabinet spokesman's office, later reduced that figure and blamed a miscalculation."

The six-year-old train was in "pretty good condition" according to Taiwan Railways Administration deputy chief Lu Chieh Shen, BBC reported. The Administration also promised to compensate families of the deceased in the amount of NT$2.5 million (US$81,000).

President Tsai Ing Wen called the accident a "major tragedy."

The defence ministry deployed 120 soldiers to aid in rescue efforts; an AFP reporter said that bodies continue to be removed from the debris.

According to the South China Morning Post, one American is believed to be injured. The Hong Kong Immigration Department reported they were not aware of any Hong Kong residents who were hurt.

The derailment is the country's deadliest since a 1981 collision that killed 30, but the third deadly accident since 2003.

In 2003, a train travelling toward a mountain tourist destination crashed, killing 17 passengers and injuring another 156, and a toppled tree caused a train crash that killed six and injured at least 50 in 2011.

Rescue workers gather at the site of the train derailment. Passengers were killed and injured.

Rescue workers tend to the injured.