Six workers died when scaffolding collapsed near the Beishan Interchange (北山交流道) in Nantou County on Freeway No. 6 yesterday afternoon, in the worst industrial accident since construction of the new freeway began.
The National Expressway Engineering Bureau (NEEB) reported that another three workers were injured in the accident and were being treated at the Puli Christian Hospital at press time last night.
At press time, rescuers were still trying to locate one other worker who was believed to be buried in the wreckage.
Photo: CNA
NEEB chief engineer Lu Jieh-bin (呂介斌) said the accident occurred at 1:45pm when the workers were installing a box girder in the westbound lane of the Beishan Interchange on the freeway.
“When they were grouting, the scaffolds that supported the box girder collapsed and the girder, scaffolds and the workers all fell from a height of 55m,” Lu said, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation by the Labor Inspection Office.
He said reports showed that 10 workers were at the construction site at the time: three Taiwanese and seven migrant laborers.
To facilitate the rescue effort, the bureau said that it had requested assistance from the 10th Army Corps and from fire department officials.
Meanwhile, the bureau used large machinery and lighting equipment to continue its rescue efforts as night fell.
The Beishan Interchange is located between the Guosing Interchange (國姓交流道) and Ailan Interchange (愛蘭交流道) and will connect Freeway No. 6 to Provincial Highway No. 14 and County Highway No. 147.
Construction of the Beishan Interchange began on Jan. 19 last year and is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 13 next year.
The cost is estimated to be about NT$560 million (US$17.5 million).
Lu said the freeway section where the accident occurred is an overpass bridge that has tunnels at each end. The construction is dangerous by nature as the workers have to work on the higher scaffolds, Lu said, adding that the construction plan had been approved by the Council of Labor Affairs.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better