The Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office today said that it has summoned 50 witnesses in the Taichung Shin Kong Mitsukoshi explosion case, but did not confirm a Liberty Times report that the gas valve on site had not been shut off.
An exclusive report today from the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) said that the gas meter had been removed and the gas valve had not been shut off at the department store on the day of the incident.
The office did not confirm the report, saying that a comprehensive investigation into all parties with potential criminal liability is ongoing.
Photo: Taipei Times
In a news release today, prosecutors confirmed that they summoned 50 witnesses, including on-site workers as well as representatives from Shin Chung Natural Gas Co and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, to clarify the cause of the gas explosion.
Some of the witnesses had already been listed as defendants, and subsequent investigations would be conducted to clarify any criminal liability as soon as possible, prosecutors said.
The explosion at the department store on Feb. 13 left five dead and more than 30 injured.
In an investigation report released at the end of last month, the Taichung Fire Bureau confirmed the explosion was caused by gas and found evidence including cigarette butts, electrical wires, a gas pipe and a circular saw.
Prosecutors said they formed a special task force to analyze the bureau’s report.
The office is investigating based on all collected evidence, including looking into parties with potential criminal liability such as operators, contractors and construction teams, it said.
The scope of accountability would only be determined once the investigation is complete, it added.
As of yesterday, the investigation team had entered the site nine times and interrogated 50 witnesses a total of 64 times, prosecutors said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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