A maintenance worker whose runaway truck led to Taiwan’s worst railway disaster in recent decades, tearfully apologized Sunday, as investigators said the train driver had little time to respond to the collision.
At least 50 people were killed and more than 200 injured in Friday’s crash, which saw a crowded eight-car train whizzing into the flanks of a narrow tunnel near the eastern coastal city of Hualien.
Investigators say the Taroko Express hit a truck on the line just before entering the tunnel. The vehicle slid down a steep embankment and prosecutors are trying to determine if the driver failed to apply the parking brake or if there was a mechanical failure.
On Sunday, the driver Lee Yi-hsiang read out an emotional statement.
“I am very sorry and want to express my sincere apologies,” he said in a crackling voice of emotion. “I will cooperate with the investigation by police and prosecutors to take the responsibility I should take.”
Lee, 49, was part of a team that regularly inspected Taiwan’s mountainous Eastern Railway for landslides and other hazards. He was questioned by prosecutors over the weekend and released on bail by a court pending further investigation.
Hong Young, chairman of the Taiwan Transport Security Council, told AFP that investigators were combing the train’s recording equipment and camera footage from the front car.
“According to testimonials from some passengers, they heard the horn sound and it is thought that the driver saw an obstacle on the track,” he said.
But the engineer – who was among those killed – would have struggled to stop a collision.
“It is believed that the operator had only 10 seconds to react and that there was not enough distance to the emergency brake,” he added.
Some survivors reported that the train did not appear to slow down before hitting the truck. But Hong said others noticed violent tremors before the collision, suggesting the driver pulled the emergency stop shortly before the collision.
As questions piled up about how crowded the train was and why there were no gates on that section of the track, Transportation Secretary Lin Chia-lung offered his resignation on Sunday. But it was not accepted by the government, which said it should remain in place until the results of the investigation are known.
The crash has left Taiwan in mourning. Some survivors lost entire families, and the youngest victim was only four. A French citizen and two Americans were also killed.