TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — One person has died, while 11 others are injured after a multi-vehicle collision on a highway in northeast Taiwan.
A 17-vehicle pileup occurred on the northbound lane inside the Xin'ao Tunnel of the Suhua Highway section of Provincial Highway 9 at around 1 p.m. on Tuesday (Oct. 24), resulting in one person being killed and 11 sustaining differing degrees of injuries, per New-Reporter.com. All trapped persons have been rescued and sent to nearby hospitals for emergency treatment.
The Yilan County Fire Department received a report at 1:42 pm that a multi-vehicle collision occurred in the northbound lane of the Xin'ao Tunnel in Yilan County's Nan'ao Township, and immediately dispatched personnel and vehicles from the Su'ao, Masai, Nanfang'ao, Dongshan, Wujie, Guangxing, Yilan and Luodong fire departments. When the firefighters arrived at the scene, a mixture of cars, motorcycles, and large and small trucks. were seen to have been involved in the collision with debris strewn in all directions.
Scene of accident. (Yilan County Fire Department photo)
One injured person was trapped under a vehicle and was heard crying out for help.
The deceased was a 76-year-old driver of a sedan surnamed Chang (張), who lost all vital signs after being trapped in his car after the accident, reported UDN. He was rushed to a nearby hospital, but despite efforts by doctors to resuscitate him, he was later declared dead at 4:10 p.m.
There was also a motorcyclist who became trapped under a truck with severe injuries. He was quickly transported to a hospital to receive emergency medical treatment.
First responders work to free people from wreckage. (CNA photo)
Another person had moderate injuries, while the remaining nine had sustained minor injuries. By 3 p.m., all trapped persons had been successfully extricated by firefighters.
Based on a preliminary investigation, the Yilan County Fire Department stated that it is suspected that the vehicle believed to have started the multi-collision was a gravel truck driven by a 55-year-old man surnamed Chiang (蔣), who failed to apply his brakes when approaching stationary traffic. Such was the force of the ensuing collisions that some vehicles flipped 180 degrees, others were pushed upright against the wall, and many were severely mangled and deformed.
In dashcam video from inside a gravel truck, it does not appear to decelerate when it approaches a traffic jam and plows through a large number of vehicles that also collide with each other before finally coming to a stop. The exact cause of the accident is pending an investigation by police.
First responders work to free motorist from vehicle. (Yilan County Fire Department photo)
The video below shows dashcam video of a truck starting the chain collision of vehicles.
