Nine people died and more than 300 were evacuated after a fire at a hospital in Pingtung County yesterday morning.
Emergency services were called after heavy smoke was seen billowing from the lower floors of Block D at Antai Tian-Sheng Memorial Hospital in Pingtung’s Donggang Township (東港).
The blaze was put out after 1pm.
Photo courtesy of the Pingtung County Government via CNA
Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the incident.
Firefighters, police and other emergency response units arrived at about 7:40am and assisted medical personnel to evacuate wheelchair-bound and bedridden patients from the hospital complex, with the rain and strong winds brought by Typhoon Krathon adding to the difficulty of the operation.
Pingtung County Fire Department chief Lee Pin-cheng (李彬正) said that 324 patients had been evacuated safely, but eight resident patients were found dead, mainly due to smoke inhalation, on the hospital’s fifth, 10th, and 11th floors.
Photo: CNA
The body of one hospital staff member, who was initially reported missing, was found in a stairwell, having died from smoke inhalation, Lee added.
Many people were treated for smoke inhalation and other minor injuries, he said, adding that 113 people were transferred to other hospitals in Pingtung and Kaohsiung.
Pingtung prosecutors launched an investigation into what was one of the worst fires in Taiwan in recent decades to determine the cause of blaze, including to determine whether it was deliberately lit or due to negligence, and to verify legal liability and compensation.
A check conducted later indicated that the blaze started in an electricity distribution room on the second floor after an air compressor caught fire, possibly due to unstable power supply caused by the effects of Typhoon Krathon, hospital founder Su Ching-Chuan (蘇清泉) said.
Su, a legislator-at-large for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), said that the hospital undergoes monthly inspections by firefighters.
A chimney effect caused smoke and sparks to reach the upper floors, resulting in the deaths, Su said, adding that he would provide assistance and financial compensation to the families of the nine people who died and those who were injured.
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