A series of powerful explosions at a incense shop in New Taipei City (新北市) has left four people dead and 38 injured, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi(侯友宜) said yesterday.
Most of the injured suffered cuts caused by broken glass or bone fractures from being sent flying by the blasts, which occurred in Wugu District (五股) on Friday night.
Goods were being unloaded from a truck in front of the shop when the blasts went off, according to an initial investigation by police.
Photo: Wu Jen-chie, Taipei Times
Four houses and seven cars were completely destroyed and houses and cars within a radius of 100m suffered damage, police said.
Local media said the sound of the powerful explosion could be heard from as far as 10km away, while smoke soared nine stories high. Witnesses said they saw the truck explode as its driver was unloading fireworks from the vehicle, which then burst into flames.
Police said this was corroborated by physical evidence showing the direction of the blast and the wreckage at the site.
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
The explosion then set off a series of blasts of various sizes in the shop itself, which police said were likely caused by powerful fireworks because of the large amount of fireworks debris at the scene and the extensive damage to the building.
The truck driver, the owner of the incense shop, his mother and the driver of a car passing by were killed in the explosions.
Authorities suspect that large amounts of fireworks and -firecrackers may have been stored on the second and third floors of the incense shop, but they said a further investigation would be needed to determine the cause of the disaster.
It was the biggest explosion in New Taipei City since the city was upgraded to the status of a special municipality in December last year.
Some people said they thought they heard thunder when the biggest explosion occurred. Residents in the neighborhood described the wreckage as similar to that seen in “earthquake disaster areas in Japan.”
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP
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