The death early yesterday of a woman injured in Friday’s gas explosion in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) raised the number of fatalities to two, according to a hospital in Taipei.
The 59-year-old woman, the only victim sent to Wan Fang Hospital after the explosion, died of her burns and cardiopulmonary failure, a hospital spokeswoman said.
The woman had second and third-degree burns over almost 90 percent of her body, the spokeswoman added.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The blast in the woman’s third-floor apartment caused a fire in the high-rise residential building, according to an initial investigation.
About a dozen other people were injured.
The woman’s 16-month-old grandson was the first casualty. Her other grandchild — a three-year-old girl — suffered second and third-degree burns over 90 percent of her body and remained in critical condition.
Building tenants said they had smelled natural gas on Thursday afternoon and alerted the gas company. Workers sent to the building for inspection did not “take the problem seriously,” residents said on Friday, adding that the workers had described the smell as a “natural biogas” issue.
The gas company involved, Shin Shin Natural Gas Co (欣欣天然氣), cut off the supply of natural gas after the explosion and yesterday began checking its pipelines for breaches.
A prosecutor was at the site yesterday with personnel from the fire and police departments and the gas company to investigate the cause of the explosion.
The fire chief has said that the department will investigate whether the explosion involved a leak from the natural gas pipe leading into the apartments — which would be the responsibility of the gas company — or whether it occurred in the section of pipe inside the building — which would be the responsibility of the residents.
Meanwhile, the New Taipei City Fire Department said the death of the boy has been extremely hard on Chang Yi-peng (張一鵬), a firefighter from the department’s Ankang Precinct (安康) who blamed himself for not being able to save the boy in the house after rescuing the girl.
Chang rushed the three-year-old girl from the room first.
He said that his decision was based on the greatest odds of survival and that the home’s narrow interior did not allow him to carry out both children at once.
Chang’s colleagues said he has a two-year-old son and is expecting a daughter next month, so he could relate to the grief of the boy’s parents.
The fire department said the children’s parents are in the military; their mother serves as a lieutenant, junior grade, in the navy’s Tamsui District (淡水) base and their father is a petty officer second class on a ship in Greater Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營).
Additional reporting by Wu Jen-chieh
Typhoon Usagi yesterday had weakened into a tropical storm, but a land warning issued by the Central Weather Administration (CWA) was still in effect in four areas in southern Taiwan. As of 5pm yesterday, Tropical Storm Usagi was over waters 120km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the southernmost tip of Taiwan proper, and was moving north at 9kph, CWA data showed. The storm was expected to veer northeast later yesterday. It had maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126kph, the data showed. The CWA urged residents of Kaohsiung, Pingtung County, Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春) to remain alert to
ONE LAST TALK: While Xi said that Taiwan was a ‘red line,’ Biden, in what is likely his last meeting with Xi as president, called for an end to China’s military activity around Taiwan China’s military intimidation and economic coercion against Taiwan are the main causes of tensions that are destabilizing peace in the Taiwan Strait, Taipei said yesterday while thanking US President Joe Biden for expressing Washington’s firm stance of maintaining peace and stability in the region. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met on Saturday for their third meeting and their first talks in seven months on the sidelines of the APEC forum in Lima, Peru. It was likely Biden’s last meeting as president with Xi. During their conversation, Biden reiterated the US’ opposition to any unilateral change to the “status quo” from either
Taiwan would participate in the 2026 APEC summit to be hosted by China after Beijing promised it would ensure the personal safety of attendees, Taiwanese national security sources said yesterday. The APEC Leaders’ Machu Picchu Declaration announced yesterday said that China would host the APEC summit in 2026. Beijing proposed hosting the summit shortly before this year’s gathering began on Friday, a national security official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Many APEC members expressed concerns about China hosting the event and said that prior communication over the decision was insufficient, the official said. Taiwan brought up concerns about legal “guidelines” China announced in
MEET AND GREET: The White House, which called the interaction ‘just a handshake,’ did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Biden planned to visit Taiwan’s envoy to the APEC summit, Lin Hsin-i (林信義), on Friday invited US President Joe Biden to visit Taiwan. During the APEC Leaders’ Informal Dialogue, Lin, who represented President William Lai (賴清德) at the summit, spoke with Biden and expressed gratitude to the outgoing US president for his contribution to improving bilateral ties between Taipei and Washington over the past four years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Lin and Biden exchanged views during the conversation, with Lin extending an invitation to Biden to visit Taiwan, it said. Biden is to step down in January next year, when US president-elect Donald Trump is