Bomb found on train: Around 600 people were evacuated from a train in Taiwan on Friday after a bomb was found inside a restroom, authorities said.
The explosives were attached to a timer and were apparently ready to detonate, according to CNN.
The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. train was stopped in Hsinchu City when the explosives were discovered in luggage. It was comprised of five liters of gasoline and a timing device to trigger them.
It was discovered by passengers who noticed that the luggage was sending out white smoke.
“We think they are explosives as they contain liquid that smells like gasoline and some triggering devices, but further testing is required to identify the substance,” a police spokesperson told AFP in elaborating on the incident.
Police said that if there was no intervention, the explosives would have likely detonated, adding that the explosion could have destroyed one train car.
“We have started necessary investigative work such as screening passenger lists and surveillance camera footage for possible suspects. We don’t have further leads at this moment,” a police official, who was not named, told the news agency.
The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. said that it had not received any bomb threats prior to the scare.
“When we were being transferred, I heard other passengers saying that suitcases with the smell of gasoline were found and that they saw the police,” said Hsu Hsin-ying, a lawmaker who was on the train, according to the Focus Taiwan News Channel.
