Huge warehouse fire produces volcano-like plume seen up to 20 kilometers away

composite image showing fire and smoke plume
Fire 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

A fire at a logistics center belonging to one of the largest supermarket chains in Taiwan destroyed more than 66,000 square meters, and produced a plume of smoke that could be seen as far as 20 kilometers away, Monday, March 14. The Taoyuan City Fire Department received reports about a fire at the Carrefour Yangmei Logistics Distribution Center in Yangmei Youshi Industrial Park at 7:33 am. TCFD dispatched 35 vehicles and 73 personnel to the scene of the fire. The

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4 slightly injured after crowded metro escalator collapses

crowded escalator collapses
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

One person suffered a sprained ankle and three other people were bruised but did not need medical treatment after an escalator with around 30 people on it collapsed at Hsinpu MRT Station in New Taipei City’s Banqiao District, Friday, March 11. Taipei Metro administrators said that the ascending escalator suddenly stalled and slid backwards at 10:26 pm. Taipei Metro expressed its deep apologies to the affected passengers. Taipei Metro said that the escalators in MRT stations have strict maintenance schedules.

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Pilot rescued after fighter plane crashes into ocean

Taiwan Air Force Dassault Mirage 2000
Military Affairs 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

An ROC Air Force fighter jet crashed into the ocean off Taiwan’s east coast this morning, and the pilot was rescued after ejecting from the aircraft, according the Ministry of National Defense. At 11:25 am, The Dassault Mirage 2000 crashed into the Pacific Ocean around 10 nautical miles off the coast of Taitung County after taking off from the Taitung Chihhang Air Base at 10:08 am. Executive Yuan Spokesperson Lo Ping-cheng said that the Ministry of National Defense had dispatched

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2 police “shooting at the tires” incidents leave 3 injured

composite image of two shooting incidents
Crime and Criminals 
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Police officers discharged firearms in separate incidents in New Taipei City and Taichung City in the last two days, and three people were injured by police bullets. At around 11:00 pm Thursday, March 10, police in Zhonghe District, New Taipei City, attempted to pull over a driver of a silver Mercedes Benz bearing a false license plate. The 22-year-old driver, named Lin, sped up and attempted to escape. A chase ensued for around twenty minutes until the car, containing three

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Driver flips car, jumps from 10-storey high expressway to avoid drunk driving charge

rolled over car
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment ,

A driver who crashed his car on an elevated expressway in New Taipei City survived a fall from a height of around 10-storeys after he jumped in an attempt to evade drunk driving charges. According to reports, the 32-year-old man, named Wang, crashed into the guardrail on the Banqiao section of the East-West Expressway (Provincial Highway 64) at 2:40 am. Wang’s Ford sedan rolled over and landed on it’s roof. Wang was not seriously injured and got out of the

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Foreign journalist’s tweet leads to crackdown on riding scooters on sidewalks in Kaohsiung City

police hand out penalty tickets to scooter rider on sidewalk in Kaohsiung City
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Kaohsiung City police handed out more than 400 tickets to people riding their motor scooters on the sidewalk yesterday after a Polish journalist who resides in the city complained about the problem on Twitter. On Monday morning, March 7, Aviation business correspondent Tomasz Śniedziewski tweeted: “I don’t like to use Twitter to complain but really, the plague of scooter racing on #Kaohsiung pavements is seriously wrong and I wish @KaohsiungCity finally noticed and addressed the problem.” Śniedziewski uploaded a video

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Cargo ship aground on Taiwan’s east coast

general cargo ship Uniprofit aground on east coast of Taiwan
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 1 Comment , ,

A Belize-flagged freighter has run aground on the coast of Taitung County, and authorities are preparing equipment and personnel in case of an oil spill today, Tuesday, March 8. The 6,653 gross ton Uniprofit was en route from Yantai, China to Bahudopi, Indonesia carrying general cargo in 149 20-foot containers when it lost power off the east coast of Taiwan. Taiwan’s Coast Guard Administration received a report that the vessel was around one nautical mile off the coast without power

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Tesla on Autopilot involved in fatal freeway crash

Tesla, BMW, and road maintenance vehicle on freeway after crash
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The driver of a Tesla involved in a traffic accident that left one dead and two injured was using the Autopilot feature at the time the car crashed, according to reports in United Daily News and Liberty Times. The Tesla slammed into the back of a road maintenance vehicle near the Daxi Interchange on National Highway 3 at 9:48 pm yesterday, March 7. The 46-year-old driver suffered an injured hand, and the badly damaged Tesla was left blocking the outer

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Multiple fatalities after residents trapped in apartment building fire: one man survives fall from 6th floor

composite image showing building on fire and people trapped on awning
Fire 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Six people are confirmed dead, and seven were injured, after a fire in a residential building in Taichung City this afternoon, Sunday, March 6. Taichung City Fire Department dispatched 22 vehicles and 85 personnel from eight fire stations after receiving reports of a fire in a 7 storey building on Xingzhong Street in Central District at 4:30 pm. Dramatic scenes unfolded as two men and one woman escaped from an apartment on the 7th floor and stood precariously on a

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Man critically injured in level crossing accident was rushing to catch a train

composite image showing paramedics treating injured man and passengers disembarking from train
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

Two men on a motor scooter were injured, one critically, after being hit by a train on a level crossing in Tainan City last night, and the scooter rider said that he had ignored the red lights and boom gates because his friend was in a hurry to catch a train. The 46-year-old scooter rider, named Liu, and his pillion passenger, who remains unnamed in reports, were hit by a local service train on a level crossing on Zhongzheng Road

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Crocodile hunt launched in Nantou County after caiman spotted in farm pond

spectacled caiman in zizania pond
Animals 
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Reptile experts have been hired to catch a caiman, after reports emerged yesterday that a crocodile had been spotted in a field of water bamboo in Puli Township, Nantou County. When a post appeared on social media saying that a crocodile was seen in a zizania pond readers were incredulous. “My mother said that there are crocodiles in the bamboo shoots field,” someone posted on the Facebook group “Puli People,” with an accompanying photograph. “It’s probably fake,” one reader responded.

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