Three people died and at least four people are still missing in a fire that broke out this afternoon in a five-story factory in Taichung, the city’s fire bureau said today.
Earlier, 19 people who were trapped on the third and top floors were rescued, the fire bureau said.
At least four people are still missing, according to the authorities, as of press time.
Photo: CNA
The factory, which is located on Shatian Road (沙田路) in Dadu District (大肚區), belongs to Sunmake Enterprise Co. (台灣善美的), which owns supermarket chain PX Mart.
PX Mart said the factory was under construction and has not been completed.
A 45 year-old man was found with no vital signs after jumping from the third floor of the factory to escape the fire, the fire bureau said.
The man died after being sent to Kuang Tien General Hospital in Shalu District (沙鹿區) at 2:03pm, it said.
The man died from traumatic injuries including leg fractures, said Lin Chi-cheng (林技正), an emergency physician at the hospital.
Four other people were found to have no vital signs at the scene, the fire bureau said.
A man and a woman with no vital signs sent to Tungs’ Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital later died in the afternoon. The status of the other two with no vital signs was unknown as of press time.
Three people who were hospitalized for smoke inhalation remain conscious, Tungs’ Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital said.
A man, surnamed Hsu (許), who went to the hospital on his own, said he saw smoke coming out from the basement and ran to the first floor to escape from the fire.
Two workers, surnamed Wu (武) and Yu (余), were sent to a hospital but they did not suffer any burns, Kuang Tien General Hospital said.
Wu, 49, said he thought he would die when he saw the blaze approaching the top floor.
Yu, 64, said he was working on the third floor and ran to the top floor when he saw the fire break out.
A construction company was installing an air-conditioning system at the factory, it said.
There were more than 30 construction workers working at the factory when the fire broke out at the basement where many polystyrene foam boards were placed, Taichung Fire Bureau Director-General Sun Fu-You (孫福佑) said.
The fire spread quickly, he added.
It is suspected that the fire broke out when workers were welding near the polystyrene foam boards in the basement.
However, an investigation is now underway to determine the exact cause of the blaze.
The fire bureau said it received a report of the fire at 1:24pm and promptly dispatched 34 fire trucks, 8 ambulances and 91 firefighters to the scene.
The blaze could be categorized as “level 5” and has not yet been extinguished as of press time.
Nearby roads have been blocked as rescue efforts are still underway.
Additional reporting by Yang Ya-min, Huang Hsu-lei, Chang Hsuan-che and Chang Jui-chen
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