Train derails in Taiwan, causing multiple casualties

TAIPEI, April 2 (Xinhua) -- A train derailed inside a tunnel in east Taiwan on Friday morning, causing multiple casualties, according to local rescuers.

The train, traveling to Taitung, came off the rails in a tunnel in the county of Hualien, causing some carriages to hit the wall of the tunnel, fire authorities in Hualien said in a statement.

By around 10:30 a.m., 80 to 100 people had been evacuated from the first four carriages of the train, while four carriages from the fifth to the eighth had "deformed" and are hard to gain access to, according to the statement.

At least four people were believed dead judging from their appearances. Three severely wounded people had been rushed to hospital and some 20 slightly wounded people were waiting to be sent to hospital, it said.

The accident occurred at the start of a four-day Tomb-sweeping Day holiday.