Bomb found on HSR train in Taiwan

[Blackwolf]

Reported from CNN:

Authorities in Taiwan say 600 passengers were evacuated from a high-speed train Friday after explosives were found in luggage inside a bathroom.
The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. train stopped at Hsinchu City after someone found the explosives in two pieces of luggage in a toilet shortly after 9 a.m. local time, according to police.

Police said the luggage was emitting white smoke, and people nearby could smell gas. The devices included 5 liters of gasoline and a timer device to trigger it, police said.

The train started at Zuoying and was headed to Taipei.

Article found HERE.

 

[George Harris]

Here is some information from local sources:

http://www.etaiwannews.com/etn/news_content.php?id=2194700

http://www.chinapost.com.tw/taiwan/national/national-news/2013/04/13/375954/Explosives-found.htm

A few highlights: The train was "local" no. 616, the 2 hour flat schedule with 6 intermediate stops between Zouying, the south terminal and suburban station for Kaohsiung, and Taipei.

As usual, there are some differences in the information between the various new sources. The highlights seem to be:

The device was apparently put on at Taichung and placed in one of the toilets in the train. It was contained in two of the fairly common rolling suitcases. A few minutes after leaving Taichung, a passenger noticed a strange odor, described as gasoline like in some sources. The railway police got on at Hsinchu. The suitcases were described as containing bottles of a "petroleum based liquid with some white-colored pellets and several self-timer devices." All passengers were evacuated at the next station (Taoyuan) and transferred to a later train.

One source stated that a team from the Criminal Investigation Bureau defused the device on board the train. It was also stated that a key link in the timing mechanism was missing, so the device was unlikely to have exploded even if not defused.

Also: "When police pulled the suitcases out of the train on to a platform, a type of liquid leaked out, reports said. Because it formed a kind of smoke, investigators assumed it was a type of strong acid, though further investigation would still be needed to determine its nature, officials said."

It was also reported that Kuomintang lawmaker Lu Shiow-yen was on board the train, having gotten on at Hsinchu. There was some speculation that she may have been the target.

The schedule:

8:00 Zouying

8:15 Tainan

8:36 Chiayi

9:01 Taichung

9:28 Hsinchu

9:40 Taoyuan

9:53 Banqiao

10:00 Taipei