A South Korean passenger train derailed early Friday in the southern port city of Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, leaving one engineer dead and eight passengers injured, according to the state-run railway operator.

The overnight train was traveling from Seoul to Yeosu when its locomotive and four of the train’s seven passenger cars came off the tracks near Yulchon Station at around 3:40 a.m., the Korea Railroad Corporation said.

Of 27 passengers and crew members, a 53-year-old engineer surnamed Yang was killed in the crash. The other engineer and seven passengers sustained minor injuries.

According to the regional railroad police, the Mugunghwa train was excessively speeding when it switched tracks and entered a curved section, allegedly traveling at 127 kilometers per hour when asked to operate at below 50 kilometers per hour.

The train, which had departed Seoul at 10:45 p.m. on the previous day, is suspected of speeding under pressure to arrive in time at Yeosu Station.

Police are looking into the train’s black box and two-way radio communications for any possible misconduct or violation of safety rules.

During questioning, an official at the controller and the train‘s second engineer gave conflicting statements, authorities said. While the official claimed to have ordered the engineer to slow down before reaching Yulchon station, the latter rebutted that he was told to lower the speed at the next stop.

The train operations, which were suspended in Yeosu and nearby Suncheon areas, will resume early Saturday morning.

KORAIL dispatched some 200 staff members to restore the rails and hired charter buses to transport passengers during the recovery work, which could take up to 20 hours.

The day‘s accident was the latest in a series of train derailments this year. A freight train went off the tracks near Sintanjin Station in Daejeon last month, triggering worries over the state-run rail agency’s lack of safety measures.

According to statistics by the Korea Transportation Safety Authority, South Korea has seen an average of 3.5 trail derailment cases annually since 2001.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)