Renovations in the food court of a Taichung shopping mall were likely “highly related” to an explosion that killed four people on Thursday, the National Fire Agency said yesterday.
An apparent gas explosion on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Zhonggang department store in Taichung at 11:33am on Thursday resulted in four deaths and 38 injuries.
Citing witness testimony, the agency yesterday said that an engineer saw a worker using a grinder to cut a gas pipeline.
Photo courtesy of the Taichung Fire Bureau
Someone had asked about the location of the gas valve, it said, adding that witnesses reported smelling gas 20 minutes before the explosion.
The operator of the store on Jan. 25 sent a request to Shin Kong Mitsukoshi’s Taipei headquarters to conduct renovations on the 12th floor from Monday to March 12, the agency said.
As it had not yet received approval, it did not apply with the local fire department before starting renovations as planned, it added.
Firefighting equipment, including the gas leak prevention system, was shut off at the time of the explosion, which contravenes standard construction procedures, Taichung Fire Bureau Chief Sun Fu-yu (孫福佑) said, adding that a fine of NT$30,000 would be imposed in accordance with the Fire Services Act (消防法).
The Taichung Police Department on Thursday summoned 20 department store employees, construction workers and Shin Chung Natural Gas employees for questioning.
Sixteen of the people were then sent to the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office for further questioning and were released as witnesses, prosecutors said.
The other four were allowed to leave without further questioning.
The party responsible for the incident is yet to be determined, but the investigation will continue, prosecutors said.
None of the people questioned have been named as defendants or had punishments imposed, they added.
Shin Chung Natural Gas in a statement on Thursday said that the incident was unrelated to the company or natural gas.
Meanwhile, extended family members of a family from Macau who were injured by the explosion came to Taiwan yesterday, the Mainland Affairs Council said.
The family of seven was passing the department store when they were struck by falling debris, killing the grandparents and seriously injuring the two-year-old granddaughter, with the rest of the family incurring lighter injuries.
The girl underwent an emergency craniotomy due to severe brain injuries and remains in intensive care, China Medical University Children’s Hospital said yesterday.
She currently has a Glasgow Coma Scale score of 3, the hospital said. The scale ranges from 3 to 15, with 3 indicating complete unresponsiveness and 15 full responsiveness.
The next seven days would be crucial for her recovery, the hospital said.
The Macau government was immediately informed of the incident, the council said, adding that council personnel were also sent to Taichung to visit the injured people.
The government would assist with the family’s entry to Taiwan, visa situation, medical treatment, document verification, funeral arrangements and whatever else they require, it said.
Macau Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai (岑浩輝) in a speech on Thursday night extended his deepest condolences to the families of those who died in the incident.
Staff from Macau’s tourism crisis assistance team, accompanied by Macau Red Cross staff, have contacted the family to provide necessary assistance, the Macau Government Information Bureau said.
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed his deepest condolences to those affected by the explosion.
He said he instructed Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) to oversee relevant agencies in assisting the Taichung City Government to resolve any issues.
Cho yesterday visited the regional branch of the Workforce Development Agency to hear briefings on the rescue and response efforts.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi in a second statement yesterday afternoon apologized to the public and accepted full responsibility for the incident.
It said it would cooperate with the investigation and has established an emergency response team to assist the families of victims, affected employees and stores.
It also vowed to implement flexible working arrangements to ensure that employees’ salaries and benefits remain unaffected.
Additional reporting by Tsai Shu-yuan, Chang Jui-chen and Su Meng-chuan
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
RSS