Minister of the Interior Chang Pao-ya (
At the same time, however, many lawmakers spoke out against Chang, saying that she must shoulder the blame and explain why the government had bungled the rescue of the four workers killed in a flash flood on Saturday.
Chang declined to make a statement, but opposition party lawmakers questioned why she and the deputy minister had not resigned over the affair, rather than allowing two subordinates -- Director-General of the National Fire Administration Chen Hung-yi (
Chang returned from Hawaii on Monday night after concluding an unofficial visit and her deputy, Lee Yi-yang (
Chang avoided lawmaker's questions but was clearly angry later when facing reporters.
She pointed out that the public should find out why senior Chiayi officials did not appear during the rescue.
"During those two hours, where were commissioner Li Ya-chiao (
"They are on the front line in the government's rescue system and they should take charge of rescue situations at that front line," Chang said.
She said that local administration officials in Chiayi County had not accepted any responsibility themselves but simply sought to shift the blame to the central government instead.
She questioned why the rescue teams did not carry enough equipment, such as dinghies and life-preservers.
The Chiayi County Government, in the meantime, announced that it had punished seven local fire department officials with demerits or reprimands over the incident.
"The chief of the fire department, Hsieh Hsin-yung, did not report this incident to me in a timely manner and also failed to contact other rescue services," said Li.
A major demerit was recorded against the fire chief and also against his deputy, Chiang Kuo-chun (
Chang also asked the local administration to find out why the river had suddenly flooded and why the workers were not made aware of the possibility that the river might rise.
The minister also wanted to know why the workers were not carrying any safety equipment, considering that they were working in a flood plain.
Chiayi prosecutor Yeh Keng-hsu
Yeh has asked the rescue team to provide the phone log from the day in question, to verify the time that the first call was made.
"We have received information from anonymous sources that the police department received the emergency call before 5:00pm, but fire department officials say that the message wasn't relayed to them by police until after 5:30pm," Yeh said.
"We will find out who is lying," he said.
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