An initial investigation has pointed to a deep fryer as the source of a fire at a food factory in Changhua County that killed seven workers and left three in a critical condition, a fire department official said on Wednesday.
Changhua Fire Bureau investigation division head Shih Guei-pan (施貴般) said that statements from survivors of Tuesday’s fire at a Lian Hwa Foods plant indicated that a fryer on the facility’s second floor might have caused the blaze.
However, investigations were ongoing, Shih said.
Photo: CNA
The fire broke out at about 6am, trapping 22 employees before firefighters arrived.
Changhua Fire Bureau chief Shih Shun-jen (施順仁) said that all employees had been pulled out of the building by about 10:10am, but 10 of them had no vital signs.
All those rescued from the fire were rushed to hospitals, including Changhua Hospital and Yuan Rung Hospital, for emergency treatment.
Seven workers were declared dead upon arrival at hospital, including three migrant workers from the Philippines, the county government said on Tuesday.
Changhua Hospital on Wednesday morning said that medical staff had resuscitated three individuals who were not breathing and had no heartbeat when they arrived at the hospital.
Two of them, a 26-year-old man surnamed Chen (陳) and a 33-year-old Filipina have regained consciousness and their conditions are not life-threatening, while the other, a 49-year-old woman surnamed Hsu (許), had not yet regained consciousness and remained in a critical condition, the hospital said.
In the wake of the fire, the Ministry of Labor — which has since 2020 flagged 26 breaches of labor rules during 57 visits to Lian Hwa’s five factories — said it would inspect the company’s facilities this week.
Ministry records show that it fined Lian Hwa NT$60,000 in 2022 after it was determined that machinery and equipment at the company’s site in Taoyuan was likely to endanger workers.
Occupational Safety and Health Department head Chu Wen-yung (朱文勇) told reporters on Wednesday that in addition to the Changhua facility, the ministry would conduct occupational health and safety inspections of Lian Hwa’s other factories in Keelung, Hsinchu County, Taoyuan and Chiayi County.
The ministry is also planning a thorough inspection of similar food factories this year, with a focus on risks arising from manufacturing processes and equipment defects, Chu said.
Meanwhile, the Changhua County Government said it would fine Lian Hwa NT$60,000 to NT$300,000 for failing to schedule a public safety inspection for the factory last year.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
RSS