The New Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office has ruled out several possible causes for the dust explosion at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park nearly two months ago, but its conclusion on the cause is still pending official reports from the city government, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday.
The explosion happened in May, killing 11 people and injuring 488.
According to media reports, the minimum ignition temperature for the colored dust powder is 430°C and after repeated testing, the office ruled out cigarettes, static electricity and other causes as potential sources of ignition.
The reports point to the beam lights often used at parties as the likely source of the ignition, saying that the lights were the closest possible source to the original site of ignition — the west end of the stage — and that the bulbs used in the lights could have reached temperatures of up to 450°C due to prolonged use.
Hou said the disaster report has not yet been finalized and was still being looked into by prosecutors and the fire investigation division of the city’s Fire Department.
The city government is still waiting for the assessment report, Hou said.
When asked about the possibility that the Formosa Fun Coast may seek to absolve itself of responsibility over the issue because the powder and lighting were all provided by Lu Chung-chi (呂忠吉), the head organizer of the Color Play (玩色創意) event, Hou said that is pending investigation.
The questions were due to Hou’s repeated comments that the park should not expect to escape from the incident unscathed.
Meanwhile, addressing the concerns of family members that it might be difficult to ask for reparations due to a lack of certainty over who is responsible for the incident, Hou said that the city government is looking into the incident, along with the prosecutors’ office.
Hou said the government would do its best to determine who is responsible and that it would not let anyone who is criminally responsible off the hook.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
RSS