4 Workers Dead 2 Injured After Industrial Accident

Four workers at a tech company in Ilan County died and two were injured while working in an underground wastewater tank without breathing equipment this morning.

Yilan Fire Bureau received a report of an industrial accident at a factory in Suao township belonging to printed circuit board manufacturer Unitech at around 10:00am.

Two workers had been working to unblock a drainage pipe during annual cleaning operations when one worker suddenly collapsed. Other workers then succumbed to toxic fumes after going in to rescue the man.

Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus pulled the five men out, but only one regained consciousness. Attempts to revive the 4 others failed and they were declared dead at St Mary’s Hospital in Luodong township.

Health and safety inspectors from the Labor Bureau, and EPA officers were dispatched to the factory to investigate the incident.

The wastewater tank was described a 2 meters deep, and at the time of the accident, the workers were standing in knee deep sludge.

One of the injured was intubated after suffering chemical burns to his throat. The other was treated for dizziness.

Unitech Shares down 2.23%

Unitech is Taiwan’s third-largest printed circuit board manufacturer and has around 10% worldwide market share of mobile phone printed circuit boards.

In July 2015 five workers were injured in gas explosion while cleaning a wastewater tank at the same factory. The injuries were not life-threatening.

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