Taiwan prosecutors seek arrest after train crash

(FASTNEWS | COLOMBO) – Prosecutors in Taiwan want to arrest a construction site manager whose lorry is suspected of causing a train crash in which at least 50 people died.

The train hit the lorry when it slid on to the tracks from the site, trapping hundreds in the wreckage for hours.

The train, travelling from the capital Taipei to Taitung, was packed with people travelling to celebrate Taiwan’s Tomb Sweeping holiday.

Friday’s accident is the island’s worst railway disaster in decades.

It happened just as the train was entering a tunnel north of Hualien. Rescuers combed badly damaged carriages inside the tunnel to find survivors, some of whom smashed windows to flee.

Many of the nearly 500 passengers on board may have been standing because the train was so full.