Fifty witnesses have been summoned in an investigation into a deadly explosion at Taichung Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store in February, the Taichung District Prosecutors’ Office said in a statement yesterday, but it did not confirm a Chinese-language report that a gas valve on site had not been shut off.
An exclusive report published yesterday by the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times) said that a gas meter had been removed, but the 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.
Prosecutors summoned on-site workers, as well as representatives from Shin Chung Natural Gas Co (欣中天然氣) and Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, to clarify the cause of the gas explosion, the statement said.
Some of the witnesses have been named as defendants and subsequent investigations would be conducted to clarify any criminal liability as soon as possible, it said.
The explosion at the department store on Feb. 13 killed five people and injured more than 30.
A Taichung Fire Bureau report released at the end of last month said that the explosion was caused by gas, while cigarette butts, electrical wires, a gas pipe and a circular saw were among the items found at the blast site.
Prosecutors said they formed a special task force to analyze the bureau’s report.
The office is investigating based on all of the material that has been gathered, and is 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 office’s investigation is complete, it added.
As of yesterday, investigators had entered the site nine times and conducted interrogations 64 times, prosecutors said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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