UPDATE - Terror ruled out after Taiwan train blast injures 25

UPDATES WITH NEW COMMENTS

By Mahmut Atanur

BEIJING (AA) – Taiwanese authorities revealed Friday that terror that been ruled as a factor in an explosion that injured 25 people on a commuter train.

The chief of the railway police bureau's Taipei branch said no intelligence of an attack had been received before the incident, for which no groups or individuals have claimed responsibility.

"We have preliminarily ruled out terrorism and are treating this as a sporadic major criminal case," Wang Pao-chang was quoted as saying by the official Central News Agency.

Earlier in the day, Premier Lin Chuan described the explosion late Thursday as a “malicious incident”.

According to Wang, a steel tube -- measuring 47 centimeters long and containing a type of black powder found in fireworks -- broke in half in the blast that caused flames to engulf a carriage on the train as it approached a station in the capital.

A waterproof bag used in mountain climbing was also recovered in a bathroom on the train, and the undisclosed objects inside it have been sent to the Criminal Investigation Bureau for testing.

Wang described the explosive -- for which no detonator has been found -- as "crudely made", and revealed that police have targeted "several" suspects.

Among the 25 victims, three sustained serious injuries -- with one in a critical condition.

The agency also quoted Wang as saying that some of those injured said they had seen a man dressed in black carrying an object believed to be the explosive device.

Police are reviewing surveillance tapes and security is set to be tightened at train stations starting Saturday, after services resume as Typhoon Nepartak moves out of the region.

After the late night blast, Cabinet spokesman Tung Chen-yuan said that the premier ordered relevant government agencies to investigate the explosion and provide assistance to the victims of the incident.