Health and Safety

Public health, workplace, and public safety

Three Injured in Garbage Truck Explosion

garbage truck that exploded
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Three people were injured and 15 homes were damaged yesterday evening, when the contents of a garbage truck exploded in a lane in Su-ao Township, Ilan County. Residents were taking their trash to the truck when the explosion occurred at around 7:25pm. Reports indicate that improper disposal of aerosol cans may have been the cause of the blast. However, an investigation into the cause of the blast is ongoing. A 34 year-old member of the sanitation team suffered ruptured eardrums,

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4 year-old Rescued after Dangling from 5th Floor

boy dangling from balcony security grill
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Firefighters in Pingtung City today rescued a four year-old boy after he clambered onto the security grill on a balcony on the the 5th floor and fell through a gap. Witnesses reported that a boy was dangling from the 5th floor of a building at around 11:20am. Firefighters rushed to the scene and neighbors manned a rescue pad below the boy, as a precaution, in case he fell. Finding the 5th floor apartment unoccupied and locked, a rescue team went

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Two Workers Die after entering Hypoxic Sewer in Chiayi County

firefighters and paramedics attempt to resuscitate a worker who was pulled out of a sewer after falling unconscious
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Two men in Chiayi County died yesterday after entering a sewer with a low oxygen concentration. The two workers, 32 and 55 years-old, entered the four meter deep sewer at around 5:30pm in order to check the sewage flow. A female worker remained on the surface. At around 5:45pm, the Chiayi County Fire Bureau received an emergency call from the coworker, who said that the men had fainted. Firefighters rushed to the scene and entered the sewer wearing breathing apparatus.

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3 Workers Die in Underground Sewage Tank

firefighters and paramedics attempt to rescue workers from sewage tank
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Three men died after entering a sewage tank under a residential building in Kaohsiung City this afternoon. At around 4:40pm, a worker named Lin, 30, entered the tank, but stopped responding to his coworkers above. Another worker, named Gao, 54, entered the tank to investigate. When Gao stopped responding to communications, the boss, also named Gao, 43, informed the building administrators, then entered the tank himself. The three men were pulled out of the tank by firefighters at around 5:19pm,

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180 High School Students Stricken by Food Poisoning

Police officers, a nurse, and a sick student
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Around 180 students from a high school in Chiayi City have sought hospital treatment, after suffering symptoms of food poisoning since yesterday afternoon. Some students began to show symptoms of food poisoning, including stomach cramps, vomiting, and diarrhea, at around 12:30pm, shortly after eating lunch served at National Chiayi Senior Commercial Vocational School. The numbers of students affected increased throughout the afternoon and evening. Two of the students were hospitalized due to the severity of their symptoms. Television news footage

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Drunk Driver Ends Up Under His Car

Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A passersby thought a pedestrian had been killed in a fatal accident when they saw a man’s body protruding from under a car near the entrance of a freeway interchange in Kaohsiung City yesterday. Police and ambulance personnel were surprised to find the man had no traumatic injuries, but was only “dead drunk.” Mr Lin, 48, had traveled to Kaohsiung to honor his ancestors during the Qing Ming (Tomb Sweeping) Festival. After the ceremonies, he consumed three bottles of Kaoliang

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Driver of 21 ton Truck Arrested for Drunk Driving

Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Police in Hualien County arrested the driver of a 21 ton concrete mixer truck after he was found to have a breath alcohol content of 0.7mg/l (Blood Alcohol Content approximately 0.15%). Police from Ji’an Police Station pulled over the driver April 2, after he was spotted driving on a section of road prohibited to heavy vehicles. Police noticed a strong smell of alcohol, and administered a breath test. The 57 year-old driver, named Gu, admitted that he had drunk heavily

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Work Suspended at Power Plant after Another Fatal Accident

paramedic treats fatally injured worker
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The Kaohsiung City Labor Affairs Bureau Labor Inspection Division ordered work to stop at a construction site at the Dalin Power Plant after a worker fell to his death yesterday afternoon, March 29. The 38 year-old worker named Wu was hanging on a crane on the outside of a storage facility when he fell from the third floor level at around 3:45pm. Wu was not wearing a safety harness as required by safety regulations and operating procedures. Wu lost vital

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Migrant Worker Injured After Hit by Moving Train on Station Platform

a man is treated by paramedics after being hit by a train in Taoyuan
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An Indonesian man was injured after being hit by a moving train while standing on a platform at Chungli Station in Taoyuan today. Reports in Liberty Times Network and Apple Daily say the man was affected by alcohol at the time. At 3:32 pm, local shuttle service train No. 1204 traveling from Miaoli to Keelung was arriving at Chungli Station when the 31 year old man named as Rokim in media reports “moved toward the moving train.” Liberty Times reported

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Bus Driver Shows Reckless Disregard for Public Safety

bus charges through red light on wrong side of road
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A bus driver in Taichung City was recorded crossing double yellow lines and charging through a red light to make a left turn, January 27. At around 9:00 pm, the day before yesterday, the bus owned by Geya Bus Transportation Company overtook cars by traveling down the wrong side of the road for a distance of about 100 meters before charging through a light that had just turned red. The bus driver was identified as Mr Chen in an Apple

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Family of Four Sickened by CO Poisoning: Mother in a Coma

gas hot water system installed on enclosed balcony
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A family of four in Hsinchu City was rescued at around 10:00 am this morning after relatives were alerted to the fact that the parents had not showed up at work, and the children did not go to school. Relatives who entered the apartment found the parents unconscious in different rooms, while the 2 teenaged girls were on the living room sofa suffering from dizziness and unable to move. The relatives quickly opened all the windows and doors and called

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