A panel investigating last month's huge landslide on Formosa Freeway (Freeway No. 3) yesterday said water seeping through cracks in the hill caused it to collapse and bury a section of the freeway.
The panel headed by Liao Hung-jiun (廖洪鈞) of the Taiwan Geotechnical Society released its initial report on the cause of the landslide yesterday.
Liao said that while water seepage was a key factor in the collapse, it was not the only cause.
Further investigation is needed to find out what caused the cracks, he said.
He said the panel would look more into the geological composition of the dip slope, the landscape, the underground hydrology, the design and allocation of rock anchors and the maintenance process to find out what really happened.
The ministry commissioned the panel of 11 experts in geology and engineering from Taiwan and abroad after the landslide on April 25 in which a retaining wall along Freeway No. 3 near Cidu (七堵) in Taipei County collapsed without warning.
Three cars were covered by earth, while many other vehicles narrowly escaped. A round-the-clock rescue operation found the wreckage of three cars and the four bodies of their occupants.
Liao yesterday said the team would talk to people responsible for designing the section of the freeway to get detailed information on its original design.
He said his team would compare the blueprints with the results of their on-site inspection to see if the design was appropriate.
About 300m of Freeway No. 3 in Keelung was buried when the hillside collapsed. Most of the mud and rocks have been cleared off, but authorities are still inspecting conditions and expect to reopen the section by the end of the month.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY CNA
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