Emergency responders were still working late into the night last night after implementing rerouting measures following a landslide near Keelung’s seaside Chaojing Park (潮境公園) yesterday afternoon that buried vehicles and left four people injured.
Local authorities said after a thorough search by rescue units with drones and sniffer dogs, they had accounted for everyone and believed nobody was trapped in the site strewn with giant boulders and debris from a collapsed hill above.
The landslide occurred at about 2:30pm on Beining Road (北寧路) adjacent to Chaojing Park and partially buried nine vehicles and trucks, as well as one scooter.
Photo: Tsai Yun-jung, Taipei Times
Highway Bureau officials said that the landslide was most likely the result of earthquakes in Hualien County and water saturation from rainfall in the past few days.
They estimated that work crews would need more than a week to clear the debris and reopen the road to traffic.
With Chaojing Park being a popular spot for sightseeing, the landslide was recorded by vehicle camcorders from several angles.
Photo courtesy of the Keelung Fire Bureau via CNA
First trees were seen collapsing among earth and rock debris, then large boulders fell and covered a section of road, pushing vehicles out of the way.
Two drivers in their 40s in separate vehicles were initially trapped when their cars were hit by the landslide. Pedestrians and firefighters were able to extricate them. Both remained conscious and were taken to hospital for treatment. Neither was in a life-threatening condition.
Meanwhile a driver surnamed Teng (鄧) and his wife sustained minor injuries as the couple had parked in a parking lot and were enjoying the view of the seashore.
“At first we noticed some pebbles falling from the hill, but did not think it would be anything serious... Then a few minutes later, we heard very loud banging, and were very frightened, as our car got pushed around by the falling rocks and debris,” Teng told reporters.
“The car’s rear got smashed up, and the doors were jammed... so we were scared about being trapped inside and could not get out. Fortunately, some pedestrians in the area came over to assist us and got us out of the car,” he said.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
CONCESSION: A Shin Kong official said that the firm was ‘willing to contribute’ to the nation, as the move would enable Nvidia Crop to build its headquarters in Taiwan Shin Kong Life Insurance Co (新光人壽) yesterday said it would relinquish land-use rights, or known as surface rights, for two plots in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投), paving the way for Nvidia Corp to expand its office footprint in Taiwan. The insurer said it made the decision “in the interest of the nation’s greater good” and would not seek compensation from taxpayers for potential future losses, calling the move a gesture to resolve a months-long impasse among the insurer, the Taipei City Government and the US chip giant. “The decision was made on the condition that the Taipei City Government reimburses the related
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS