Premier Yu Shyi-kun yesterday agreed in principle to allocate NT$5.7 billion in three years to purchase 12 large and medium-sized helicopters for the National Fire Administration's aero-fire squadron.
"The premier agreed in principle to appropriate the money from the Cabinet's second emergency fund to allow us to buy the planes and train personnel to upgrade the capability of the squadron," said Yu Chen-hsien (余政憲), minister of the interior.
Yu made the remark during a press conference held after a closed-door meeting with the premier. Yu Shyi-kun listened to briefings about the train crash in Alishan presented by the interior ministry, agriculture council, health department and defense ministry.
The accident took place on Saturday when a mountain train derailed on a bridge near the Alishan Railway Station, killing 17 people and injuring 156.
Preliminary investigation concluded that human error was the probable cause of the accident.
Yu Chen-hsien yesterday also took the opportunity to dismiss media speculation that a UH-1H that crashed in an emergency landing after the accident might be too old and plagued with structural and mechanical problems.
"Although they're 26- to 32-year-old planes and have an average of 5,500 flight hours, they're not obsolete models because seven are still in service in the ROC army and 2,000 more in 23 other countries around the world," he said.
According to Yu Chen-hsien, the squadron currently has eight UH-1H and two B-234 helicopters, which have been transferred from the army.
While the agricultural council has pledged to pay for every passenger's medical costs incurred in the accident, Lin yesterday said that the victims might not be eligible for national compensation.
"Although this particular issue was not brought up during the meeting and the government has not yet reached a final decision, my personal understanding is that victims might not be eligible for national compensation because the accident was not caused by an error civil servants made in the line of duty," Lin said.
Another article in the National Compensation Law, however, stipulates that the government should be held accountable and compensate for the loss of life, body or property caused by flawed public facilities or poor management.
To upgrade the management of the service trains in Alishan in the long run, Minister Without Portfolio Lin Sheng-feng (林盛豐) yesterday said that the Cabinet is considering teaming up with the private sector to run the service.
"We're thinking of letting the private sector manage the train service, a five-star hotel up on the mountain and other facilities on the foot of the mountain," Lin said.
Lin said that the Cabinet is thinking of either enacting a new law or decreeing an administrative order to impose compulsory insurance on transportation services.
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