Many residents in Greater Kaohsiung’s Cianjhen (前鎮) and Lingya (苓雅) districts were startled awake by the explosions that began before midnight on Thursday and continued into the early hours of yesterday morning, many fleeing their homes thinking there had been an earthquake.
“It was terrifying to see the entire road explode,” Chen You-ming (陳有明), the owner of a braised pork rice store near the affected areas, said yesterday.
Chen said his family went to a temporary shelter that the city opened at Kuanghua Junior High School, adding that along the way he saw many people with burned faces or arms or who were bleeding.
Photo: EPA
One elderly man was standing in the middle of the road muttering about the end of the world, Chen said.
Among the many casualities from the blasts were members of Greater Kaohsiung’s police and fire departments.
Police officer Chen You-ping (陳佑平) from Lingya Precinct was flung into the air and suffered second-degree burns after the road he was standing on exploded. He had been part of a taskforce sealing off the intersection of Kaisyuan and Yinghsian roads.
“The first thought to pass through my mind was that I am thankful I am still alive to see my wife and child,” he said.
He heard some of his colleagues calling for help after he crawled out of a hole that he had fallen into, but he had to use his cellphone to call the precinct to request assistance because he lost his radio in the blast.
Firefighter Chen Chien-wu (陳建武) was part of a crew spraying water on the intersection of Ersheng and Kaisyuan roads in the hope of reducing the ground temperature.
Photo: CNA
The road blew open underneath him and a fire truck, and he suffered burns on both hands and his face.
Police Sergeant Chang Min-huang (張明煌) said he was called in to maintain security around the intersection of Kaisyuan and Sienminng roads, along with colleague Lin Hui-wen (林惠雯) and an intern from the Taiwan Police College, Lee Chi-hsuan (李季軒), at 2am yesterday morning.
“The road cracked open and all of us fell down a hole,” he said, adding that the hole was at least 2m deep.
Photo: Reuters
“I was covered in blood by the time I crawled out of the hole,” Chang said.
Some members of the public helped him free Lee, who was pinned to the ground by a rock that fell on one of her feet, he said.
Although he was not able to find Lin, he later was told that she had also escaped.
Photo: CNA
The experience was like a scene from an action film, he said.
Kaohsiung City Government Fire Department Secretary-General Lin Chi-tse (林基澤) had been listed as missing. He was inspecting a possible source of a gas leak on Thursday night before an explosion at the site. All that rescuers found afterward was Lin’s hat, which had his name in it.
Former Jhudong Borough (竹東) warden Chen Chin-fa (陳進發) has been confirmed dead.
He was last seen alive delivering bottled water to firefighters in Cianjhen District before one of the explosions, and was among the first of the wounded to be sent to a hospital, the city government said.
Amid the horror of the disaster, many people were quick to offer aid to the injured.
Chen Wu Chin-yen (陳吳金燕), who lives on Kaisyuan 3rd Road, said she heard an explosion and had gone outside to see what was happening.
The first thing she noticed was the auto repair shop on the corner was ablaze, she said, adding that she then realized a young man about 30 years old coming toward her on a scooter was yelling that one of his legs had been severed.
Chen Wu said she called the police and grabbed some ice from her house to try and staunch the blood from the wound. She made runs to a nearby convenience store for more ice until an ambulance arrived to take the man to a hospital.
An elderly man surnamed Wang (王), who is paralyzed in his lower body, was carried out of his home by his son and given shelter in a nearby junior-high school. However, since being paralyzed by a stroke eight years ago, he could not sit up.
Wang said he was very uncomfortable at the school until a stranger got a mat from the school’s health center for him to lie on.
There were also reports of able-bodied men forming volunteer groups to help police redirect traffic in the two affected districts, as well as people cheering police officers and firefighters on as they worked to rescue victims and clear the area yesterday.
Additional reporting by Ko You-hao
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or