Nine soldiers were injured, two seriously, after an explosion at an ammunition depot at the Hsiang Feng military base in Keelung yesterday, the Ministry of National Defense said.
The blast occurred at about 3pm, when a 120mm mortar round exploded during an inspection by technical personnel, the ministry said, adding that the cause of the explosion is under investigation.
Emergency services said that they transported six of the injured soldiers to Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Keelung, and five of them were treated for scrapes, ringing ears and dizziness.
Photo: Wu Sheng-ju, Taipei Times
A staff sergeant surnamed Hung (洪), whose right thigh and left arm were severely disfigured in the blast, arrived at the hospital without vital signs, but was successfully revived, the hospital said.
A 34-year-old sergeant surnamed Yin (尹), who had second and third-degree burns on his arms and face, and whose left arm was extensively damaged, was taken to Tri Service General Hospital’s Keelung branch.
Although Yin was able to respond to doctors’ questions upon arriving at the hospital, he was later intubated and transferred to Tri-Service General Hospital’s branch in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖), hospital deputy superintendent Liu Jui-meng (劉瑞盟) said.
The other two soldiers sought medical attention on their own, the military said.
The ammunition depot where the explosion occurred is operated by the Third Branch of the Sixth Army Command. The base is on the east side of Keelung’s inner harbor, northeast of the city’s downtown area.
The ministry has yet to say whether the accident was related to the annual Han Kuang military exercises, which started yesterday in northern Taiwan and run through Friday.
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), a Taiwanese businessman and deputy convener of the nation’s National Climate Change Committee, said yesterday that “electrical power is national power” and nuclear energy is “very important to Taiwan.” Tung made the remarks, suggesting that his views do not align with the country’s current official policy of phasing out nuclear energy, at a forum organized by the Taiwan People’s Party titled “Challenges and Prospects of Taiwan’s AI Industry and Energy Policy.” “Taiwan is currently pursuing industries with high added- value and is developing vigorously, and this all requires electricity,” said the chairman
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
RSS