Terrorism ruled out in Taiwan train explosion

"Our initial assessment is that it is not a terrorist attack," said Wang Bao-chang, chief of the Taipei Precinct of the Railway Police Bureau. "We see it is more of a random major criminal act."

Wang told a press conference that the bureau did not receive any bomb threat calls before or after the explosion occurred.

After examining the suspected bomb-like device and talking to witnesses, staff ruled out terrorism.

Wang said investigators suspected the device was not made by a professional and discovered that it had neither a fuse nor a detonator.

As the investigation is ongoing, Wang said the cause of the explosion is still unknown and no suspect has yet been named.

He said they have targeted "several people," including injured passengers, but declined to reveal any further information.

The explosion happened at around 10 p.m. Thursday when a local service passenger train bound for Keelung was about to arrive at Songshan station in the capital Taipei.

Investigators found a 47-centimeter device inside one of the carriages and a 15-centimeter piece of debris outside. They also discovered a gym bag inside a toilet in the carriage, but declined to reveal its contents.

Of those injured by the blast, one person was Vietnamese, while the rest were Taiwanese.

Meanwhile, the train service and high-speed rail services all over Taiwan were suspended Friday due to the impact of Typhoon Nepartak.

Originally expected to be severe, the Central Weather Bureau downgraded it to a moderate typhoon after it made landfall at Taitung, east Taiwan at around 6 a.m. Friday.

As of noon on Friday, Nepartak had killed two people and injured 66.

Nepartak is the first typhoon formed in the Pacific this year and the first to make landfall in Taiwan.

Source: Kyodo