Taiwan Train Crash Another Derailed Train Car Removed From Qingshui Tunnel

Another body was recovered from the site of the train crash that occurred last Friday, when a construction vehicle slid onto the track north of Hualien. The death toll of Taiwan”s worst rail disaster in decades remains unchanged at 50. On Monday, salvage teams were able to extract one more carriage from the tunnel, leaving three more inside. . . After a herculean effort, Car 5 of the Taroko Express was finally pulled out from Qingshui Tunnel at 2:15 Monday morning. The task was difficult because of the way the car was deformed in the crash.. . Car 5 was crushed between Car 4 and Car 6 inside the tunnel. The indents on its frame show the tremendous force of the collision.. . Chi Wen-chung. Acting TRA head. Car 6 was mangled quite badly. After it’s pulled out, the interior of the tunnel will be cleaned and new track will be laid. We’re looking for ways to coordinate the process with prosecutors, for the moving of human remains.. . Another body was retrieved on Monday, of an adult male crushed under cars 5 and 6. Working together, firefighters and TRA personnel lifted the train cars to free the body.. . Chien Hung-cheng. Hualien County Fire Department. Originally we thought he was simply pinned down by the drive shaft. But then we found there were drain covers and heavy objects weighing down on him too. So we used hydraulic cutters to break down the heavy objects. Then we had to use some other tools. The gap wasn’t big, so we had to saw it apart slowly, to create an opening big enough to pull the body out.. . Chi Wen-chung. Acting TRA head. It would take longer to pull out the train from the tunnel’s southern end. So the preliminary plan to use the southern end for clearing out loose parts. The main salvage work will be carried out from the northern end.. . Officials say they expect to retrieve Car 6 and Car 8 on Tuesday, and start on Car 7 as early as Wednesday.