Thescenic mountain in central Taiwan is one of the most populardestinations among Chinese tourists, and catching a train on theAlishan Forest Railway is a must on their itineraries.

Theaccident took place at around 12:17 p.m. at the railway's70-kilometer mark, between the Sacred Tree Station and AlishanStation. The last carriage of the train is believed to have beenstruck by a falling branch from a cedar tree, which flipped thecarriage on its side and derailed two others. 

Thedriver of the train, Hsiao Yu-hung, said they were climbing up themountain at a speed of about 10 kph when he heard some strangesounds. He said he then jammed the brakes, but the broken branchfirst hit the seventh carriage, and then the eighth. 

In2003, a train overturned on the railway killing 17 people andinjuring 173. In August 2009, the mountain railway was severelydamaged by Typhoon Morakot and only the section between the SacredTree and Alishan stations has since resumed operations. The railwayservice has been suspended again after the latest mishap. Taiwan'stourism association said the families of the killed passengers couldeach receive as much as NT$10 million in compensation.