There has been a huge outpouring of support in Taiwan for the hundreds of people injured in an explosion and fire at a water park in New Taipei City on Saturday in the form of cash, blood donations and pledges of legal assistance.
Lawyer Lai Fang-yu (賴芳玉) decided to organize a volunteer team of lawyers to provide legal assistance to the nearly 500 people — mostly teenagers and young adults — who were injured in a suspected dust explosion at Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park in New Taipei City’s Bali District (八里).
“Watching those kids running around in the fire broke my heart,” Lai said on Facebook yesterday.
Photo courtesy of the New Taipei City Public Health Department
Taiwan Confederation of Trade Unions director-general Chuang Chueh-an (莊爵安) yesterday announced a cash contribution of NT$100,000 to a special account held by the New Taipei City Government Social Welfare Department for disaster relief.
Chuang urged members of the confederation to contribute what they could for the injured, who he said face long periods of rehabilitation and are likely to require more resources than a single municipal government could provide.
One woman who was injured died from severe burns, while more than 200 others who suffered burns were still being treated in intensive care at multiple hospitals as of yesterday afternoon.
The incident reflects the importance of keeping worksites and commercial venues safe, Chuang said, calling on authorities to take additional steps to ensure occupational and public safety.
Cash donations were also made by the Petroleum Association of Taiwan and Want Want Holding chairman Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), who donated NT$5 million (US$160,400) for medical assistance.
Notebook PC manufacturer Quanta Computer yesterday announced that it was donating NT$10 million to the cause.
Celebrities including pop singer Jolin Tsai (蔡依林) and Japanese actor Masatoshi Nagase tried to comfort the injured with messages on Facebook.
“My most sincere love and blessing for Liu and every patient hurt badly in the dust explosion,” Tsai wrote.
She referred to a 19-year-old fashion design student at Taipei College of Maritime Technology, who suffered burns to 90 percent of his body.
His mother told reporters that Tsai and Taiwanese-Canadian fashion designer Jason Wu (吳季剛) are his idols.
Though the incident brought out the best in many people, it also exposed the dark side of humanity.
A 33-year-old man named Wang Liang-kai was suspected of using the chaos caused by the fire on Saturday night to steal money from people and he also allegedly took the mobile phone of an injured person who asked him to call for help.
Wang was arrested on theft charges on Sunday and taken to the Shilin District Prosecutors’ Office in Taipei for interrogation. He was released on NT$30,000 bail.
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