The government yesterday pledged to thoroughly probe the causes behind a freeway construction accident that claimed seven lives on Thursday and launch an investigation into the illegal hiring of undocumented foreign workers at the site.
On Thursday afternoon, a 50m high, 80m wide section of scaffolding collapsed near the -Beishan Interchange (北山交流道) in Nantou County on Freeway No. 6 and sent large concrete slabs hurtling to the ground, killing seven people, including six Indonesian workers, and injuring two in the worst industrial accident since the construction of Freeway No. 6 began.
The foreign workers, all of whom were Indonesian, did not have work permits from the Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau.
Fielding questions from lawmakers on the legislative floor yesterday, Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said he was concerned about the presence of foreign workers at the site because the construction contract expressly prohibits such hiring.
Wu added he had demanded that the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA) determine the status and whereabouts of “thousands of undocumented immigrant workers” in the country.
The National Immigration Agency (NPA) estimates that the number of undocumented immigrants in the country had risen to 33,150 as of the end of August, with NPA Deputy -Director--General Chang Chi (張琪) adding that “the number has been increasing at a rate of thousands of people every year.”
“It’s an age-old problem. We have to root out the problem this time,” Wu said in response to questions raised by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Te-fu (林德福).
CLA Minister Jennifer Wang (王如玄) said her council will demand heavy punishment for any contractors who have illegally hired foreign workers.
She added that the council would also seek heavy punishment for anyone found to have failed to protect their employees.
An initial investigation suggested that the collapse might have been caused by weak supports resulting from bad grouting carried out by inexperienced workers.
At a separate setting yesterday, Control Yuan Minister without Portfolio Lee Ping-nan (李炳南) said he would investigate the fatal accident to find out whether any officials were involved in illegal or irregular practices with regard to the project.
Lee said he and his colleague Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) would make a visit to the site of the accident today.
The probe will focus on safety measures at the construction site on Freeway No. 6 and the alleged illegal employment of foreign workers there, Lee said.
They would also check whether the relevant authorities, including the CLA and the Ministry of Transportation and Communications, had been negligent in ensuring that the construction was being carried out properly and safely, Lee added.
SAFETY CHECKS
The construction was suspended immediately following the collapse and will not be resumed until safety checks have been completed, with the contractors obliged to cover any losses caused by the accident.
The Beishan Interchange is located between the Guosing Interchange (國姓交流道) and Ailan Interchange (愛蘭交流道). When completed, the new interchange will connect Freeway No. 6 to Provincial Highway 14 and County Highway 147, which takes visitors to the 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan in Taichung County’s Wufong Township (霧峰).
The construction of the Beishan Interchange began on Jan. 19 last year and is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 13 next year. The Taiwan Area National Expressway Engineering Bureau said about 85 percent of construction has been completed, which the bureau said is actually a little ahead of schedule.
The construction cost is expected to reach about NT$560 million (US$17.5 million). Statistics from the bureau showed that the construction of the Nantou section on Freeway No. 6 began in 2004 and was completed last year. Over those five years, eight industrial accidents occurred, leading to the deaths of 10 workers, with four injured.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHELLEY SHAN AND CNA
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