Taiwan’s transport minister has resigned after he and the manager of a construction site accepted responsibility for a catastrophic train crash when a truck slid onto rail tracks.
Lin Chia-lung, in a statement on his Facebook page, said he would step down once the initial rescue work had come to an end, accepting full responsibility”.
Officials are investigating the manager of the construction site, Lee Yi-hsiang, whose truck is suspected of not having its brakes properly applied.
Lee in a statement was also apologising for what happened while equally accepting responsibility as police took him away from his residence
A Hualien court has reportedly ordered that Lee be detained for two months, saying there was a risk he may destroy evidence having being suspected of causing death by negligence
The accident is the Island’s worst in decades when a packed express train carrying almost 500 passengers and crew slammed into the truck near the eastern city of Hualien on Friday, causing it to derail and the front part to crumple.
50 people have been confirmed dead while workers are continuing to remove the train from inside the tunnel and look for other bodies, with officials warning that the death toll could go up or down as they verify identities.
The Transport Ministry and the rail administration that comes under it are facing a number of questions, including why there was no proper fencing at the site and whether too many standing-only tickets were sold for the train journey.
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