Train overturns in Taiwan, killing at least 6

A popular tourist train overturned Wednesday in a mountainous region of southern Taiwan, killing at least six Chinese citizens, the island's president said.

The Government Information Office said the accident injured 61 other people, 23 seriously. There was no immediate information on their nationalities.

President Ma Ying-jeou said the accident occurred after a large tree fell into the path of the oncoming train.

"I feel very grieved by the accident," he said, adding that a thorough investigation would be carried out.

TV footage showed at least three carriages overturned along a hilly gradient, and rescue workers tending to victims.

Taiwan's Defense Ministry said it sent four helicopters to the scene, and rescue services sent three others.

The narrow-gauge Alishan rail line, running east from the southern city of Chiayi, corkscrews through a series of steep mountains and has long been one of Taiwan's premier tourist attractions. Most of the line has been closed since a devastating typhoon struck Taiwan in August 2009, but a small portion near the top has been reopened and is where the accident occurred.

Alishan has been especially popular among Chinese tourists.

Ma has made improving relations with China the centerpiece of his 3-year-old administration. The two sides split amid civil war in 1949 and the mainland still claims the island as part of its territory.

Under Ma's leadership, commercial ties have grown more robust and tensions between Taipei and Beijing have subsided to their lowest level in 60 years.

One of the most tangible areas of improvement has been a steady rise in the number of Chinese tourists visiting Taiwan. Arrivals in 2010 totaled 1.2 million, enriching the island's coffers by some $2 billion.

Late last year the government acted quickly to soothe the feelings of relatives of 20 Chinese tourists who were killed when their bus skidded off a road during a storm in eastern Taiwan.