The bodies of four people killed in a landslide on the Formosa Freeway (National Freeway No. 3) on Sunday were recovered yesterday morning.
The victims were identified as Lee Tse-Ying, 32, Kuo Wen-han (郭文漢), 30, Lin Huei-shin (林惠馨), 55, and Yeh Mao-chu (葉茂竹), also 55.
Rescuers found Lee and Kuo’s bodies at 2:37am and 3:40am respectively. The couple were scheduled to marry in June.
PHOTO: FANG PIN-CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Following the discovery, Kuo’s uncle criticized the National Freeway Bureau for labeling the landslide “a natural disaster.”
“It was sunny and clear when the incident occurred. There was no rain or earthquake,” he said in a TV news interview.
“We are victims of this incident and have yet to talk about the possibility of national compensation, yet, [the government] was busy passing the buck by calling it a natural disaster,” he said.
Lin, a driver with Taiwan Taxi Co, was to celebrate her birthday tomorrow. Lin’s son said he had almost lost the will to live after finding out about his mother’s death.
“She will always be my mom,” he said.
Yeh’s wife said she hoped her children would remember their father’s love for them.
Media reports had also said a silver Mercedes-Benz had been passing through the area when the landslide occurred. The driver, Chang Wen-yong (張文勇), later contacted the Keelung Fire Department to report that he was alive.
The Keelung Prosecutors’ Office said that all four victims had intracranial and intrathoracic hemorrhages as well as fractured skulls, among other wounds. The office said it has formed a special taskforce to investigate the cause of the landslide and determine whether it was caused by human error.
Three cars and four people were buried in the slide, which covered 300m of the Keelung-Sijhih section with 200,000m of soil and rock. At 1pm yesterday, the National Freeway Bureau had removed 61,128 tonnes of earth and rocks from the freeway.
Traffic congestion continued on the Sun Yat-sen Freeway (National Freeway No. 1) during rush hour, with traffic up 26 percent compared with last Wednesday.
The Ministry of Transportation and Communications said that clearing work would continue and that aerial photos would be posted on the Internet to help the public follow the progress.
In response to complaints about labeling the slide a natural disaster, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said: “It’s a misunderstanding. No one has said that it was a natural calamity.”
Wu said the government would determine whether there were unexpected natural factors behind the landslide or if it was caused by construction defects.
The government would also conduct a thorough investigation into roads built along dip slopes to prevent any recurrences, he said.
The government approved compensation of NT$1 million (US$31,800) for each victim in accordance with the measures governing distribution of natural disaster relief funds. Officials delivered the condolence money to families of the victims yesterday.
Asked by reporters if the government would compensate the victims under to the State Compensation Act (國家賠償法) if civil servants or government agencies were found to be responsible, Wu said the problem would be dealt with according to the law.
On behalf of the government, Wu said he felt deeply sorry for the families’ losses.
Meanwhile, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) expressed his regret and led participants in observing a minute of silence before the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Central Standing Committee meeting yesterday.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY MO YAN-CHIH AND CNA
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
The Chien Feng IV (勁蜂, Mighty Hornet) loitering munition is on track to enter flight tests next month in connection with potential adoption by Taiwanese and US armed forces, a government source said yesterday. The kamikaze drone, which boasts a range of 1,000km, debuted at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in September, the official said on condition of anonymity. The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and US-based Kratos Defense jointly developed the platform by leveraging the engine and airframe of the latter’s MQM-178 Firejet target drone, they said. The uncrewed aerial vehicle is designed to utilize an artificial intelligence computer
Renewed border fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating yesterday, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions as more flooded into temporary shelters. Reporters on the Thai side of the border heard sounds of outgoing, indirect fire yesterday. About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, said Thai Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri, a spokesman for the military. Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the Thai Ministry of Defense said. Thailand’s military announced that
CABINET APPROVAL: People seeking assisted reproduction must be assessed to determine whether they would be adequate parents, the planned changes say Proposed amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法) advanced yesterday by the Executive Yuan would grant married lesbian couples and single women access to legal assisted reproductive services. The proposed revisions are “based on the fundamental principle of respecting women’s reproductive autonomy,” Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) quoted Vice Premier Cheng Li-chiun (鄭麗君), who presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier yesterday, as saying at the briefing. The draft amendment would be submitted to the legislature for review. The Ministry of Health and Welfare, which proposed the amendments, said that experts on children’s rights, gender equality, law and medicine attended cross-disciplinary meetings, adding that
RSS