Maintenance vehicle sliding down an embankment and striking the train could have been cause of accident

Dozens of people were killed on Friday when a packed train derailed inside a tunnel in eastern Taiwan, the island's worst railway accident in decades.

Taiwan's National Fire Agency said at least 51 people were confirmed dead with more than 60 sent to hospital.

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Two people were still trapped in the twisted carriages inside the tunnel on Friday afternoon, the agency added. 

Officials said the accident could have been caused by a maintenance vehicle sliding down an embankment and striking the train before it entered the tunnel near the coastal city of Hualien.

"There was a construction vehicle that didn't park properly and slid onto the rail track," Hualien county police chief Tsai Ding-hsien told reporters.

"This is our initial understanding and we are clarifying the cause of the incident," he added. Read more at i24