Ilan County

Express Train Derails on East Coast: at least 18 fatalities and 168 injured

Breaking News 
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[Constant Updates expected] An express train derailed at high speed in Ilan County this evening killing at least 17 and injuring more than 100 people . At 4:50pm, the Puyuma express No.6432 derailed between Dongshan and Suxin in Suao District on the east coast line. The train was carrying 310 passengers from Shulin Station in New Taipei City to Taitung City. Taiwan Rail Administration set up a level 1 disaster response command center at around 5:00pm, and the Ministry of

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Rogue Wave Death-toll reaches 5, Three still Missing

search and rescue
Disaster 
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The number of fatalities caused by large waves generated by typhoon Jebi rose today after two bodies were found off the coast of Ilan County and another woman drowned this morning. Seven people were washed into the ocean in three separate incidents in Ilan County yesterday afternoon when a series of large waves suddenly surged over the beach at Nanao and Neiwan. In one of the incidents, an eight year-old girl cried for help after being dragged out by a

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Three Injured in Garbage Truck Explosion

garbage truck that exploded
Health and Safety 
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Three people were injured and 15 homes were damaged yesterday evening, when the contents of a garbage truck exploded in a lane in Su-ao Township, Ilan County. Residents were taking their trash to the truck when the explosion occurred at around 7:25pm. Reports indicate that improper disposal of aerosol cans may have been the cause of the blast. However, an investigation into the cause of the blast is ongoing. A 34 year-old member of the sanitation team suffered ruptured eardrums,

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Naked Maniac Slashes 3 People in Random Knife Attack

Naked man runs into lottery shop attempting to slash people with a knife
Violent Crimes 
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Four people, including the suspect, were treated in hospital after a naked man randomly attacked people in Luodong Township, Ilan County yesterday evening, May 2. Police received reports at around 8:15pm that a naked man was randomly attacking people in the streets with a knife. The 27 year-old suspect named Lin first went to a lottery store where he unsuccessfully attempted to slash a person with a chopping knife. Lin then ran into an Internet cafe and chased a 26

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Firefighters Busy as Tomb Sweeping Day Approaches

tomb sweeping fire
Society 
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Tomb Sweeping Day (Ching Ming Festival) falls on April 5 this year, and as usual in the weeks preceding the festival, many families are getting in early to clean up family plots in cemeteries around Taiwan. In Ilan County alone, firefighters were called to 32 wildfires on the weekend of March 24-25, with 20 of the fires breaking out on Sunday. Ilan County Fire Bureau said that firefighters were exhausted. The bureau blamed carelessness, dry conditions, and wind, for the

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Bus Driver’s Illegal U-turn plus Speeding Motorcycle a Fatal Combination

motorcycle and bus accident
Traffic Accidents 
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Two men in their early twenties died last night, after the motorcycle they were riding smashed into a bus doing an illegal U-turn across four lanes of traffic and a painted median strip on a road in Ilan County. The motorcycle rider is suspected to have been exceeding the speed limit at the time. The driver of the Kamalan Bus company’s intercity bus claimed that he had just dropped a passenger off and didn’t notice the crosshatched median strip, which

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Children and Teachers Evacuate Bus Before it Bursts into Flames

a tour coach catches fire in Ilan County
Travel and Tourism 
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A bus carrying students and teachers from Malaysia and Singapore erupted into flames shortly after the passengers disembarked from the vehicle in Ilan County last night, November 10. Shortly before 9:00pm, Friday evening, the tour bus carrying 32 passengers who had just visited a tourist farm got stuck after attempting to negotiate a 90 degree turn at an intersection of two narrow mountain roadways. With a back wheel stuck in a ditch, the driver stepped on the throttle in an

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Vietnamese Worker Buried Alive in Sewage Trench

body of worker recovered from collapsed trench
Health and Safety 
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[Cover Picture: Apple Daily] A Vietnamese man died in Ilan County today after the trench he was working in collapsed. The identity of the man is unknown, as he was illegally employed as a day-laborer by the contractors undertaking the sewage works for the County Government. Rescuers spent 1.5 hours digging the man out. Chinese language media showed images of the man’s lifeless, mud-covered body being lifted out of the trench. Rescuers rinsed the man off and performed CPR, but

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2 Dead in Single Vehicle Crash

the wreck of a taxi after it crashed at high speed on the national highway Ilan County Taiwan
Traffic Accidents 
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A taxi driver and his son are dead after the driver lost control of his car at high speed on a highway offramp in Ilan County last night. Mr Lee, 56 and his 23 year old son were returning home to Ilan from Taipei City at around midnight when the accident occurred near the Ilan Interchange on Highway 5. The taxi appears to have hit a concrete traffic separator at the top of an off-ramp before flipping and rolling. Firefighters

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Litter Found in Stomachs of Dolphinfish

plastic litter found after being consumed by fish caught in Taiwan
Marine and Fisheries 
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The manager of a fish-processing plant uploaded pictures to social media yesterday, after finding a a plastic ring, plastic straw, and other foreign objects in a fishes’ stomach. He hopes that the pictures will draw attention to the problem of environmental pollution. Chen Jun-jie has been working in the seafood industry for more than 20 years, and said that recently there have been more cases of discarded objects found in fish stomachs. Objects found recently include plastic straws, rubber bands,

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Lamborghini in Rice Paddy

Lamborghini in rice paddy, Ilan County Taiwan, August 10, 2016
Odd News 
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A brand new Lamborghini Huracán was spotted in a rice paddy this morning, after the 25 year-old driver lost control when cornering on a country road in Ilan County. Media reports say he had just taken delivery of the car yesterday, and is involved in a tech startup. They didn’t name the man, but used the nickname ‘small ox’. The farmer who owns the field laughed the incident off, saying he usually uses a machine worth NT$2 million to plow

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