Council of Labor Affairs Chairwoman Chen Chu (
Six workers were killed and another injured when part of a balanced cantilever of an overpass under construction along the express road leading to the Yuankang fishing port in Hsiping (
One of the six workers killed was a Thai national.
PHOTO: CHANG HSUN-TENG, TAIPEI TIMES
The exact causes of the accident was still under investigation.
Chen offered NT$100,000 to each of the families of the victims. She also promised that the council will see to it that the contractor, BES Engineering Corp, and its sub-contractors will face the music and pay compensation for the workers who were killed or injured.
After examining the accident scene, prosecutors and labor officials tentatively labeled the accident the result of human error and negligence, adding that the matter should be dealt with according to the law.
"There was a management problem," Chen told reporters.
The BES authorities promised yesterday that the company will help the families take care of all matters regarding the funerals for the victims and will not evade their responsibilities in the wake of the accident.
Meanwhile, council officials said that the ill-fated construction site has been checked by local labor officials 31 times since construction began. The contractor was ordered to suspend work 11 times, and was fined a total of NT$1.38 million.
Minister of Transportation and Communications Lin Ling-san (
Another worker was killed at the same highway site when he fell in March last year.
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