Six hundred passengers were evacuated from a train in Taiwan on Friday after passengers found explosives attached to a timer that was reportedly close to detonation in luggage inside a restroom.

Police said The Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. train was stopped in Hsinchu City when explosives were discovered in the luggage. It consisted of five liters of gasoline and a timing to device to set them off.

"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 spoke about the incident.

Passengers noticed white smoke coming out of the luggage.

Police said that if there was no intervention, the bomb would have likely detonated, and said 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," the spokesperson said.

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.

Lu Shoiw-yen, passenger and lawmaker wrote on her Facebook page about the events.

"The high speed train I rode today stopped in Taoyuan for a long time and I thought it was a mechanical failure but later heard that there were gasoline bombs on the train," Shoiw-yen said.

MSN reported that in 2004, Yang Ju-man, also known as the "rice bomber" was arrested for planting more than 15 bombs to raise awareness of the plight of the island's agricultural sector after Taiwan's entry into the World Trade Organization.