At about 09:28 local time in the morning, a Taroko Express train operated by the Taiwan Railways Administration derailed in a tunnel after hitting an unoccupied construction flatbed vehicle that had slipped onto the tracks at the tunnel's mouth, resulting in at least 51 deaths and dozens of injuries. According to the National Fire Agency of Taiwan, 66 people were initially transported to local medical facilities and dozens more were treated on site for various minor injuries. However, other local sources say that up to 156 people were transported to hospitals. Among the dead are the train operators, one French national, and two Japanese nationals. This is the deadliest train accident in Taiwan since 1948, when a train fire killed up to 64 people.

The train, with service from Taipei to Taitung, was carrying 494 people on the train at the time of the crash, and was thought to be crowded as it was carrying people travelling to honor the Qingming Festival (Also known as the Tomb Sweeping Festival). The 8-carriage train had 376 seats, and many passengers were standing when the train derailed near the Taroko Gorge scenic area.

As of now, investigations are ongoing to uncover how the vehicle slipped down an embankment and onto the railroad tracks. Taiwan's disaster relief center said that initial investigations suggest that the truck's emergency/parking brakes either were not properly engaged or failed, allowing the vehicle to slide about 20 meters (65 feet) down a hill and onto the tracks. Because of the long weekend, no construction work was taking place at the time of the incident. The operator of the truck has been taken into police custody for questioning.  

Note: The first and third photos used in this article was retrieved from the website of the Taiwan Executive Yuan (行政院), the Executive Branch of the Government of Taiwan. It was retrieved from https://www.ey.gov.tw/Page/9277F759E41CCD91/1d255c43-72c1-43d3-b396-e7cffa663359 on April 2nd, 2021, and is licensed under the Government Website Open Information Announcement. It may be used for commercial purposes as long as the source is mentioned. The second image in this article was retrieved from the public domain, and can be used for commercial purposes without citation.