Failure to properly operate a tower crane and a lack of clear measures for restricting or prohibiting construction on both sides of the Taichung mass rapid transit (MRT) system were the main reasons leading to a deadly crane collapse in May last year, an investigation conducted by the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board said yesterday.
On May 10 last year, an MRT train bound for the Taichung High Speed Rail Station crashed into a truss that fell onto the tracks between Feng-le Park Station and Daqing Station, killing one person and injuring 15.
The truss was later found to be from a construction site operated by Highwater Construction Co near the MRT route.
Photo courtesy of a reader via CNA
Contractors recruited by Highwater were using a tower crane to dismantle another tower crane that was used in construction, the board said.
“The crane operator might have tried to pull up a large truss diagonally, but the angle at which the operator made such a maneuver exceeded the limits of hoisting wires and truss lifting points, consequently twisting and breaking the truss,” the board said. “The truss eventually lost the support from the crane and fell to a road under the tracks, with part of it falling on the MRT line.”
The truss fell on the tracks at 12:27:03pm and the train departed from Feng-le Park Station at 12:27:29pm. At 12:27:31pm a security guard saw the truss on the tracks and waved his arms in a failed attempt to catch the attention of a staff member on board the train. The train hit the truss at 12:27:46pm, the board said.
Although a security guard saw the foreign object on the tracks, the guard failed to stop the train from leaving the station because there was no system on the platform for the station crew to halt the train in an emergency, the board said.
A staff member on board the train eventually detected the presence of a foreign object on the tracks and immediately asked the operations control center to stop the train, the board said.
The staff member also tried to use a key to open a board covering the train’s manual operating system to press the emergency brake button, but failed to unlock it in time, it said.
Investigators said that it would need about 15 to 16 seconds to unlock the board cover, but the staff member only had 12 seconds to do so after seeing a foreign object on the tracks.
The Measures for Prohibiting and Restricting Construction on Both Sides of the Mass Rapid Transit System (大眾捷運系統兩側禁建限建辦法) do not require contractors to conduct risk assessments and stipulate precautionary measures before they conduct high-altitude hanging operations in buildings, the board said.
Meanwhile, construction plans submitted by contractors working on-site in the proximity of important transportation hubs are only reviewed by agencies in charge of the projects, the board said, adding that there is no joint review mechanism between central and local government officials.
In Taiwan, contractors have no detailed procedures to abide by when they dismantle a tower crane, the board found.
Meanwhile, Taichung MRT Corp failed to set clear procedures to authorize its staff to halt trains in emergency situations, the board said.
It has neither standardized ways to communicate the need for trains to make a quick stop, nor track inspection procedures after incidents, it said.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths
Restarting the No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant would take up to 18 months, Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) said today. Kuo was answering questions during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Economics Committee, where legislators are considering amendments to the Renewable Energy Development Act (再生能源發展條) amid concerns about the consequences of the Pingtung County reactor’s decommissioning scheduled for May 17. Its decommissioning is to mark the end of Taiwan’s nuclear power production. However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers have proposed an amendment to the Nuclear Reactor Facilities Regulation Act (核子反應器設施管制法) that would extend the life of existing
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday demanded that Somalia reverse its decision prohibiting Taiwanese passport holders from entering or transiting through the country. Somalia said it is following the “one China” principle based on UN Resolution 2758. The ministry said that Somalia is misinterpreting the resolution under China’s instigation, creating a false impression that Taiwan is subordinate to China. The Somali Civil Aviation Authority told airlines on Tuesday last week that starting today, any passengers with passports or travel documents issued from Taiwan or its affiliated institutions would not be allowed to enter or transit through Somalia. The decision comes as Taiwan is boosting
RSS