HUALIEN — 2021 · Major Tragedy
Taroko Express 408 — The Truck at the Tunnel Mouth
On the morning of 2 April 2021, the first day of the Qingming holiday, Taroko Express train 408, carrying 494 passengers, struck a truck that had slid down from a hillside construction site onto the track as the train entered the Qingshui Tunnel in Hualien's Xiulin Township. In the collision at 09:28, the train derailed inside the tunnel. 49 people were killed and more than 200 injured, making it the deadliest railway accident in Taiwan's history. The investigation found that the truck's handbrake had not been properly engaged. The truck driver and the site manager were tried for negligence causing death; the driver's sentence was increased to 12.5 years on appeal. The crash raised the issue of construction safety near railways.
- Date
- 2021
- Place
- Xiulin, Qingshui Tunnel, Hualien, TW
- Category
- Major Tragedy
- Case Status
- Closed
- Coordinates
- 24.2000, 121.6600 ↗
Timeline of Events
- 2 April 2021, 09:28Taroko Express 408 hit a truck on the track and derailed in the tunnel.
- 2-3 April 2021Rescue work continued; 49 deaths were confirmed.
- 16 April 2021The truck driver was charged with negligent homicide.
- 2021The driver was sentenced to 7 years 10 months at first instance.
- AppealThe driver's sentence was raised to 12.5 years.
Sources
- The Guardian — Taiwan train crash at start of holiday weekend theguardian.com ↗
- The Guardian — Truck driver charged with negligent homicide theguardian.com ↗
- CNN — Taiwan train derailment edition.cnn.com ↗
- Wikipedia — 2021 Hualien train derailment en.wikipedia.org ↗
- The Guardian
- CNN
- Wikipedia (EN)
Source grade A: several independent sources, at least one an official record or reference work. If you spot a mistake or something missing, report it with "Suggest a correction" in the app.
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🕯️ This record was prepared with respect, in memory of those who lost their lives.