The leaders of five Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-controlled cities and counties yesterday said they are each donating one month’s income to the reconstruction efforts in the wake of a series of gas pipeline explosions that ripped through Greater Kaohsiung on Thursday night and on Friday morning last week, killing 28 people and injuring more than 300.
In a joint statement, Pingtung County Commissioner Tsao Chi-hung (曹啟鴻), Greater Tainan Mayor William Lai (賴清德), Chiayi County Commissioner Helen Chang (張花冠), Yunlin County Commissioner Su Chih-fen (蘇治芬) and Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) pledged to give a month’s pay each to the recovery efforts and urged others to contribute to help affected residents resume their normal lives as quickly as possible.
The city and county leaders again expressed their condolences to the injured and the families of the people killed and urged the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT)-controlled central government to offer full support to Greater Kaohsiung.
They also said that they are confident that the reconstruction of the city will proceed smoothly under the leadership of Greater Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊), who is also a DPP member.
A total of 83,819 people in 32,968 households have been affected by the explosions that hit the Cianjhen (前鎮) and Lingya (苓雅) districts, according to figures compiled by the Central Emergency Operation Center.
As of yesterday, 28 people were confirmed dead, 305 injured and two missing after the explosions.
The blasts are believed to have been caused by a propene leak in an underground pipeline used by a petrochemical manufacturer.
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