Explosion in Taipei train

TAIPEI, Taiwan - An explosion, believed to have been triggered by homemade explosives, is said to have left at least 24 people injured on a commuter train in Taiwan’s capital, Taipei on Thursday evening.

The explosion is said to have led to a fire on the train near Songshan Station in the capital city and dozens of passengers reportedly suffered burns and 11 ambulances rushed them to the hospital.

The Taiwan Railway Administration (TRA) has said that the explosion was heard from the sixth carriage of the train at about 10 pm local time and that the carriage later burst into flames.

TRA has ruled out equipment failure as the cause of the incident and assured that the fire had been doused.

According to The China Post, emergency workers are said to have found an 8-inch firecracker at the scene of the blast leading investigators to believe that the explosion was caused by homemade explosives.

Meanwhile, Cabinet spokeswoman Premier Lin Chuan has reportedly asked relevant government agencies to form an ad hoc team to investigate the incident.

Amidst the debris, two windows of the train were reportedly shattered in the blast.

According to the Facebook page of the TRA, agencies responsible for rail, airport and port security had been ordered to intensify security and be more vigilant. The country’s police have been instructed to assist with strengthening security at train stations.

The Central News Agency quoted the National Police Agency director-general Chen Kuo-en as saying that officials had found explosives measuring 15cm to 20cm on the seat of the carriage. Eyewitnesses quoted in the report recalled seeing a man in his 40s leaving a “long” object, or a black luggage bag in the carriage before leaving the train. The report confirmed the information with other passengers too.