Six workers died when scaffolding collapsed near the Beishan Interchange (北山交流道) in Nantou County on Freeway No. 6 yesterday afternoon, in the worst industrial accident since construction of the new freeway began.
The National Expressway Engineering Bureau (NEEB) reported that another three workers were injured in the accident and were being treated at the Puli Christian Hospital at press time last night.
At press time, rescuers were still trying to locate one other worker who was believed to be buried in the wreckage.
Photo: CNA
NEEB chief engineer Lu Jieh-bin (呂介斌) said the accident occurred at 1:45pm when the workers were installing a box girder in the westbound lane of the Beishan Interchange on the freeway.
“When they were grouting, the scaffolds that supported the box girder collapsed and the girder, scaffolds and the workers all fell from a height of 55m,” Lu said, adding that the cause of the accident was under investigation by the Labor Inspection Office.
He said reports showed that 10 workers were at the construction site at the time: three Taiwanese and seven migrant laborers.
To facilitate the rescue effort, the bureau said that it had requested assistance from the 10th Army Corps and from fire department officials.
Meanwhile, the bureau used large machinery and lighting equipment to continue its rescue efforts as night fell.
The Beishan Interchange is located between the Guosing Interchange (國姓交流道) and Ailan Interchange (愛蘭交流道) and will connect Freeway No. 6 to Provincial Highway No. 14 and County Highway No. 147.
Construction of the Beishan Interchange began on Jan. 19 last year and is scheduled to be completed by Jan. 13 next year.
The cost is estimated to be about NT$560 million (US$17.5 million).
Lu said the freeway section where the accident occurred is an overpass bridge that has tunnels at each end. The construction is dangerous by nature as the workers have to work on the higher scaffolds, Lu said, adding that the construction plan had been approved by the Council of Labor Affairs.
TECH EFFECT: While Chiayi County was the oldest region in the nation, Hsinchu county and city, home of the nation’s chip industry, were the youngest, the report showed Seven of the nation’s administrative regions, encompassing 57.2 percent of Taiwan’s townships and villages, became “super-aged societies” in June, the Ministry of the Interior said in its latest report. A region is considered super-aged if 20 percent of the population is aged 65 or older. The ministry report showed that Taiwan had 4,391,744 people aged 65 or older as of June, representing 18.76 percent of the total population and an increase of 1,024,425 people compared with August 2018. In June, the nation’s elderly dependency ratio was 27.3 senior citizens per 100 working-aged people, an increase of 7.39 people over August 2018, it said. That
‘UNITED FRONT’: The married couple allegedly produced talk show videos for platforms such as Facebook and YouTube to influence Taiwan’s politics A husband and wife affiliated with the China Unification Promotion Party (CUPP) were indicted yesterday for allegedly receiving NT$74 million (US$2.32 million) from China to make radio and digital media propaganda to promote the Chinese government’s political agenda and influence the outcome of Taiwan’s elections. Chang Meng-chung (張孟崇) and his wife, Hung Wen-ting (洪文婷), allegedly received a total of NT$74 million from China between 2021 and last year to promote candidates favored by Beijing, contravening the Anti-Infiltration Act (反滲透法) and election laws, the Chiayi District Prosecutors’ Office said. The couple acted as Beijing’s propaganda mouthpiece by disparaging Hong Kong democracy activists
EARLY ARRIVALS: The first sets of HIMARS purchased from the US arrived ahead of their scheduled delivery, with troops already training on the platforms, a source said The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said it spotted 35 Chinese military aircraft, including fighters and bombers, flying to the south of Taiwan proper on the way to exercises in the Pacific, a second consecutive day it has reported such activities. The Chinese Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a request for comment on the missions, reported just days before tomorrow’s US presidential election. The US is bound by law to provide Taiwan with the means to defend itself. Its arms sales to Taipei include a US$2 billion missile system announced last month. The MND said that from 9am yesterday,
A Control Yuan member yesterday said he would initiate an investigation into why the number of foreign nationals injured or killed in traffic incidents has nearly doubled in the past few years, and whether government agencies’ mechanisms were ineffective in ensuring road safety. Control Yuan member Yeh Ta-hua (葉大華) said in a news release that Taiwan has been described as a “living hell for pedestrians” and traffic safety has become an important national security issue. According to a National Audit Office report released last year, more than 780,000 foreign nationals were legally residing in Taiwan in 2019, which grew to more than
RSS