While the destruction caused by the series of gas explosions left Greater Kaohsiung streets looking much like a war zone, battle scenes extended to hospital emergency rooms around the city.
The Greater Kaohsiung Government launched its mass casualty response program early yesterday morning, preparing hospitals for the wounded making their way in and for those who were going from one hospital to another, looking for family members.
According to the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the casualties were sent to more than 20 hospitals, including Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital, Veterans’ General Hospital, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Yuan’s General Hospital, the Armed Forces General Hospital and Kaohsiung Municipal United Hospitals.
Photo: Lo Hsin-chen, Taipei Times
Most of the injured suffered cuts and burns, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, people were tearful and emotional as they identified their loved ones at the Kaohsiung Municipal Funeral Parlor, some of them venting their anger at officials on the scene, criticizing the government for not doing enough in the rescue effort.
The mother of a victim surnamed Yang (楊) arrived at the funeral parlor with her two sons, and was so overcome by grief she could not stand on her own. She said her daughter ran into an explosion on her way home from work and died instantly.
A man surnamed Hung (洪) mourned his brother-in-law’s wife, who was killed by an explosion on her way home, saying that “this would not have happened to her if she got off work earlier.”
Many people who arrived quickly at the funeral parlor after being notified of their family members’ deaths had to wait hours before seeing the bodies of their loved ones.
Greater Kaohsiung Government Mortuary Services Office Director-General Cheng Ming-hsing (鄭明興) became the target of criticism when he arrived.
Many victims’ families complained that the government did not put enough resources into the rescue effort.
One man, in tears, said a member of his family had been pinned under a big rock, and it took him several hours to remove the rock on his own with his bare hands, with no help from rescuers or officials.
“Who could bring my family back alive?” he shouted.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS