A 49-year-old woman has become the ninth person to die of injuries sustained in a fire last week at a Lian-Hwa Foods factory in Changhua County.
The woman, surnamed Hsu (許), was admitted to Changhua Hospital after the fire on Tuesday last week in a critical condition, the hospital said in a statement.
Her condition began to deteriorate yesterday morning, and, with her family’s permission, she was discharged and allowed to return home, where she passed away, the hospital said.
Photo: CNA
Last week, Hsu’s husband said his wife had previously worked at a breakfast shop, but started working the night shift at the factory about 10 years ago to help provide for their family.
One of her sons works at the Hsinchu Science Park, and the other is preparing to join the military as a conscript.
The fire trapped 22 people, including 10 who were found by emergency services without vital signs.
Nine of the 10, including four migrant workers from the Philippines, later died, while one of the others, a 43-year-old man surnamed Yen (顏), recovered and was released from Changhua Christian Hospital on Saturday.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated.
Two employees, a site supervisor and the head of the factory’s fire management department, were questioned by prosecutors over the weekend on suspicion of negligent homicide and were released on bail of NT$300,000 each.
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