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SLUG: 2-300199 Taiwan train crash (Revised version L-only
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DATE=03/01/03 CORRESPONDENT REPORT= NUMBER=2-300199 TITLE=TAIWAN TRAIN CRASH (L-only) BY-LINE=FRED STEINER DATELINE=TAIPEI CONTENT= VOICED AT: /// Re-running w/revised version /// INTRO: Taiwan's rescue service is suffering another black eye Saturday as a fatal tourist train accident in central Taiwan was compounded by the crash landing of a helicopter trying to rescue passengers. Fred Steiner reports from Taipei at least 14 passangers were killed and 40 other injured. Text: Several cars of a miniature tourist train derailed on the slope of Mount Ali, a popular tourist site in central Taiwan. The effectiveness of Taiwan's rescue services is once more under scrutiny as the rescue helicopter sent into help crash-landed. All aboard the rescue helicopter were safe, reported E-T-T-V news, a cable news network in Taiwan. It appeared that the helicopter descended too quickly while landing. Taiwan's rescue services have been criticized during previous disasters for slow or inadequate responses. One official in President Chen Shui-bian's government stepped down shortly after his election due to a botched rescue mission in which four people trapped in a flooded stream were swept to their deaths before rescue services acted. Images of the stranded people resisting the surging waters were transmitted live all over the island. President Chen cut short his appearance at a baseball game upon hearing of the rail accident, which occurred just as Taiwan's political parties are announcing plans for next year's presidential election. One passenger being treated in the hospital described the train as suddenly leaving the tracks with one car plummeting into a mountain ravine. The accident occurred when the four-car train was crossing a 20-meter long bridge, the Forestry Bureau said. It was heading toward Shenmu, one of Mount Ali's most scenic locations. The historic narrow-gauge line is one of the world's three remaining Alpine trains, and was originally built to haul lumber from the mountain. (Signed) NEB/HK/FS/MH/PT |
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