industrial-accident

Rebar collapse on Kaohsiung City construction site leaves 1 dead, 4 injured

firefighters rescuing workers trapped under rebar
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

One person died, and four others are injured, one in a critical condition, after a stack of rebar collapsed on a construction site in Kaohsiung City’s Gushan District this morning, March 4. At 9:20 am, five workers were tying rebar five floors underground when a stack of three-meter high rebar collapsed like dominoes for a length of between 40 and 50 meters, leaving two people trapped. Three others were injured but managed to extricate themselves from the tangle of steel

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Two rail workers killed, one injured after being hit by locomotive

site of fatal accident at Haiduan Railway Station
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Two railway maintenance workers died, and another was seriously injured, after they were hit by a maintenance vehicle in Taitung County this morning, February 23. The three men were replacing a switch on tracks around one kilometer from Haiduan Train Station in Guanshan Township when they were hit by an electric maintenance vehicle being driven by a trainee driver at 8:35 am, according to reports. The three injured workers were rushed to Guanshan Tzu Chi Hospital, but two were pronounced

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Leak of highly toxic chemical gas causes road closure in Hsinchu County

firefighters treat a leaking cylinder of silane gas
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Firefighters closed a section of road in Hsinchu County for three hours after a gas cylinder being transported from the Hsinchu Science Park caught fire while leaking highly volatile silane gas today, January 26. The Hsinchu County Fire Bureau received a report that a gas cylinder on a truck was emitting flame, and thick, yellow smoke on Shuangyuan Road in Baoshan Township at 8:54 am. Fire fighters sprayed water on the cylinder, while police closed pedestrian and vehicular traffic in

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Three workers injured after explosion at biogas facility

injured worker after explosion at biogas facility
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Three workers were injured after an explosion at a biogas recovery facility in Hualien County this morning, Labor Day, May 1. Hualien County Fire Department received reports of a massive explosion in Yuli Township at around 9:45 am. Three workers were found to have suffered multiple fractures and other injuries at the site of the explosion. One worker had a fractured spine and femur and was transferred to Taipei City for treatment after being stabilized at a local hospital. Another

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One worker dead, three injured after construction site ground collapse

excavators at site of ground collapse
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A female worker’s body was recovered 13 hours after she was buried alive on a construction site in Taoyuan City yesterday afternoon, April 30. Four people were trapped after the ground collapsed at the site of an underground car park construction project in Pingzhen District shortly after 4:00 pm. Three of the trapped workers were rescued and two were treated for cuts and bruises, but a 62-year-old woman remained missing. Firefighters worked all night in a search and rescue operation

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Construction boss fakes traffic accident to cover-up fatal industrial accident

construction site that became a crime scene after cover up attempt on industrial accident
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

A construction site foreman and four workers have been charged after police found that they had faked a traffic accident to cover-up a fatal industrial accident. Police in Pingtung County’s Neipu Township received a report about a scooter accident outside the construction site at around 10:00am, Thursday, March 14. However, when officers arrived at the scene, the “scooter rider” had already been taken to hospital in the construction site foreman’s car. A damaged scooter lay beside a utility pole. The

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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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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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Explosion and Fire at Oil Refinery

refinery fire
Business and Economy 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Residents in Taoyuan City were rudely awoken by a massive explosion at the CPC oil refinery at around 6:40 am this morning, January 29. Following the explosion, a fire engulfed the desulfurization unit. According to media reports, the explosion was heard as far as 10 kilometers away. The fire bureau dispatched 93 personnel, 37 fire appliances, and 3 ambulances to the scene of the fire. Fortunately, there were no injuries reported. According to preliminary reports, the explosion and fire occurred

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Vietnamese Worker Dies in 40 Meter Fall

Vietnamese worker being treated after falling in industrial accident
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A Vietnamese man died this afternoon after falling from a 40 meter-high fuel storage tank at a CNPC facility currently under construction at Taichung Harbor. Media reports say the man lost his footing in high winds. Apple Daily reported that the 23 year-old overseas foreign worker named Tran was working atop a Liquid Petroleum Gas storage tank at the west pier of Taichung Harbor when he fell at around 2:15pm. Firefighters from Taichung Harbor Fire Bureau were dispatched to the

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