TAROKO EXPRESS CRASH: Condolences pour in from Pope Francis, Dalai Lama, worldwide, ministry says
By Lu Yi-hsuan / Staff reporter
Hundreds of foreign dignitaries, including Pope Francis and the Dalai Lama, have expressed condolences following a train derailment in Hualien County on Friday last week, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The crash was the nation’s worst rail tragedy in 40 years, killing 50 people and injuring 200 as of yesterday, after the Hualien District Prosecutors’ Office revised the death toll down from 51 following DNA testing.
The ministry said that as of noon yesterday, it had received messages from 745 heads of state, dignitaries or friends of the nation, and from 92 countries or international organizations.