An explosion in the early hours of this morning at a Far Eastern New Century Corp chemical fiber plant in Hsinchu County has killed two and left 19 injured.
At about 3am, the Hsinchu County Fire Bureau received a report of a fire at the Cotton 6 North Plant in Sinpu Township (新埔) and dispatched 29 fire trucks and 60 firefighters after a suspected gas leak triggered an explosion, the bureau said.
The blaze is currently under control, but firefighting efforts are ongoing, it added.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Fire Bureau
Initial internal investigations suggest that the explosion was caused by a gas leak from a hot oil pipeline, Far Eastern Group said, but added that it is awaiting official investigation results for confirmation.
Tsai Pai-wei (蔡柏瑋), a 35-year-old duty manager, went to investigate after receiving an internal notification that the fire alarm had been triggered, and was killed at the scene by the blast, the company said.
Tsai had worked at Far Eastern for almost nine years and had recently been promoted to engineer, it added.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Government
Another employee, 43-year-old engineer Chang Chun-yu (張駿瑀), sustained critical injuries at the scene and was sent to a hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries, it said.
Far Eastern Group chairman Douglas Hsu (徐旭東) has ordered generous compensation for the families of the deceased and dispatched personnel to hospitals to assist the injured, the company said.
Far Eastern said their factories are all equipped with fire detectors and automatic alarm systems, and once a fire was detected this morning, the guardroom immediately notified plant personnel.
However, since 2019, five fires have broken out at the plant, according to the bureau’s records.
A Hsinchu County resident surnamed Huang (黃) said that frequent fires and even explosions have often caused unpleasant odors and air pollution in the area, with fearful residents calling the plant a “ticking time bomb.”
Labor Rights Association head and Hsinchu County Councilor Luo Mei-wen (羅美文), a former employee at the plant, said he suspects that the tragedy was caused by a long history of excessive labor cuts, overworked staff, lack of sufficient employee training and old equipment that had not been updated.
The Hsinchu County Environmental Protection Bureau has carried out air-quality testing and advised caution for certain boroughs in Hsinchu County's Jhubei City (竹北), including Dongsing (東興), Shihsing (十興), Luchang (鹿場) and Doulun (斗崙), as well as northern areas of Hsinchu City including Siangshan District (香山).
Those downwind of the blast may notice air pollution or unusual odors and are advised to close windows and take precautions when going outside such as wearing masks, it said.
Hsinchu County Commissioner Yang Wen-ke (楊文科) visited the scene and expressed his condolences in a post on Facebook.
Additional reporting from CNA
The military has spotted two Chinese warships operating in waters near Penghu County in the Taiwan Strait and sent its own naval and air forces to monitor the vessels, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. Beijing sends warships and warplanes into the waters and skies around Taiwan on an almost daily basis, drawing condemnation from Taipei. While the ministry offers daily updates on the locations of Chinese military aircraft, it only rarely gives details of where Chinese warships are operating, generally only when it detects aircraft carriers, as happened last week. A Chinese destroyer and a frigate entered waters to the southwest
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s comment last year on Tokyo’s potential reaction to a Taiwan-China conflict has forced Beijing to rewrite its invasion plans, a retired Japanese general said. Takaichi told the Diet on Nov. 7 last year that a Chinese naval blockade or military attack on Taiwan could constitute a “survival-threatening situation” for Japan, potentially allowing Tokyo to exercise its right to collective self-defense. Former Japan Ground Self-Defense Force general Kiyofumi Ogawa said in a recent speech that the remark has been interpreted as meaning Japan could intervene in the early stages of a Taiwan Strait conflict, undermining China’s previous assumptions
Taiwan Railways Corp (TRC) today announced that Shin Kong Mitsukoshi has been selected as the preferred bidder to operate the Taipei Railway Station shopping mall, replacing the current operator, Breeze Development Co Ltd. Among eight qualified firms that delivered presentations and were evaluated by a review committee, Shin Kong Mitsukoshi was ranked first, while Breeze was named the runner-up, the rail company said in a statement. Contract negotiations are to proceed in accordance with regulations, it said, adding that if negotiations with the top bidder fail, it could invite the second-ranked applicant to enter talks. Breeze in a statement today expressed doubts over
RSS