Yilan County

Driver stops express train to scold motorist who breached level crossing barrier

train driver telling off scooter rider at level crossing
Odd News 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The driver of an express train stopped his train and opened the window to berate a woman on a motor scooter who had stopped inside the boom gates at a level crossing in northeastern Taiwan yesterday, April 23. Video footage uploaded to Facebook showed the driver of a Taroko Class express train (No.417) traveling northbound from Zhiben to Shulin Station stopped at the crossing on Donggang Road in Yilan City at 1:52 pm. The train driver slid the window open,

Read more

More than 500 people evacuated after kitchen fire in luxury hotel

smoke from fire at Hotel Royal Ch
Fire 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

Three people sought medical treatment for smoke inhalation, and more than 500 guests, visitors, and staff were evacuated from a luxury hot springs hotel in Yilan County last night after a fire broke out in a basement-level kitchen. Yilan County Fire Department received reports of a fire at the Hotel Royal Chiao Hsi in Jiaoxi Township at around 7:30pm yesterday, Thursday, March 9. The hotel’s marketing and public relations manager told media that all 438 guests, 30 restaurant customers, and

Read more

Driver killed in horrific high-speed single-vehicle crash in Yilan County

scene of accident showing scattered parts
Traffic Accidents 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

A driver who died after he was thrown from his vehicle when it slammed into a utility pole on a highway in Yilan County today has not yet been identified as police continue an investigation into the crash. The Yilan County Fire Bureau received a report of a single-vehicle accident at the 4 kilometer mark of Provincial Highway 7C in Datong Township at 9:29 am. Firefighters and police arrived at the scene to find the car ablaze, and the driver

Read more

Rescue team hikes supplies to more than 300 tourists trapped in mountain resort after landslides block road

firefighters carry supplies across a landslide-affect section of road
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , , ,

Fire Bureau search and rescue personnel hiked 20 kilometers carrying essential supplies to a a group of tourists and employees trapped at a mountain resort in Yilan County after heavy rains caused landslides that blocked access to the area over the weekend. 266 tourists and 37 employees are spending the third day at the Mingchi Villa in the Mingchi National Forest Recreation Area after rains generated by a combination of the northeast monsoon and Tropical Storm Nesat caused at least

Read more

43 people trapped by rising stream: weather bureau warns extremely torrential rain on the way

vehicles and people trapped in streambed
Weather 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

More than forty people in 17 vehicles are trapped in a streambed at a popular hot springs camping area in a mountain district of Yilan County this morning, and the Central Weather Bureau has issued an extremely heavy rain advisory for the area. Liberty Times Network reported that a large number of tourists camped on the Qingshui River next to the Qingshui Geothermal Recreation Area in Datong Township last night when “unexpectedly” heavy rain began to fall, causing the creek

Read more

Train driver dies after being hit by freight train while crossing the tracks

police at scene of fatal train accident
Health and Safety 
Phillip Charlier 2 Comments , , ,

A train driver about to start his shift died after he was hit and run over by a freight train while he was crossing the tracks at Yilan Station yesterday, Wednesday evening, July 27. Liberty Times reported that the 51-year-old freight train driver, named Wu was crossing the tracks from Platform 2 to reach his train No.7,557 when he was hit by freight train No.7,556 as it entered the station at 8:33 pm. Firefighters said that Wu was obviously dead

Read more

Northeast tuna season opens with first bluefin sold for more than NT$1.8 million

first Pacific bluefin tuna for 2022 season at Port of Su'ao Nanfang Harbor
Marine and Fisheries 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , ,

The first Pacific bluefin tuna caught off Taiwan’s northeast coast this year sold at auction for a total price of NT$1,897,000 million at Nanfang Harbor, Port of Su’ao, in Yilan County this morning, April 21. The 271 kilogram fish opened with starting bid of NT$5,600 per kilogram, and was finally sold at NT$7,000 per kilogram to Taipei restaurant Sando House. The price was considerably lower than the NT$8,600 per kilo paid for the first catch last year, also purchased by

Read more

Snake on a train: passengers evacuated after boa constrictor appears on luggage rack

snake on luggage rack on train
Animals 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment , , ,

Passengers were evacuated from a train car after a boa constrictor was spotted slithering along the luggage rack on a Taiwan Railways limited express train this morning, April 18. The conductor on the Ziqiang Class limited express No. 272 from Miaoli to Hualien received a report of a snake on the luggage racks of car No. 12 as the train arrived at Ruifang Station, New Taipei City at 8:19 am. The conductor ordered passengers out of the car and notified

Read more

Art installation makes people blush? Expo organizer: “don’t think too much”

art installation featuring phallic cactus and yonic shell
Events 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

An art installation at this year’s Yilan Green Expo has drawn media attention due to resemblance to male and female genitalia, but organizers dismissed criticisms with the Taiwanese adage “don’t think too much.” The installation, titled “Made in Heaven” in the Orchid Corridor consists of a combination including dolls posing around a phallic cactus planted beside a yonic sea shell. The chairman of the Yilan County Orchid Art Association told Liberty Times that the special shape does leave room for

Read more

Indonesian caregiver sentenced to 1 year in prison for injuring employer who withheld her passport & air tickets

monitor footage screen grab of caregiver threatening patient
Society 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment

An Indonesian national employed as a caregiver in Yilan County was sentenced to serve one year in prison followed by deportation, after she held a knife to an elderly woman’s neck, causing injury, in an attempt to get her passport and air tickets back so that she could go home. According to the findings of the Yilan District Court, at around 3:30 am on August 8, 2021, 31-year-old Puji Lestari threatened the 81-year-old woman, named Wu, with a knife .

Read more

Offshore earthquake rattles residents of northern and central Taiwan

earthquake map for 5.3 magnitude earthquake
Earthquakes 
Phillip Charlier 0 Comment ,

A 5.3 magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Yilan County on Taiwan’s northeastern coast was felt as a level 3 in parts of Yilan and Hsinchu counties, and a level 1 as far away as Chiayi County. At 9:05 pm, the tremblor struck 33.3 kilometers northeast from the Yilan County Government Office at a focal depth of 106 kilometers. According to Taiwan’s Central Weather Bureau, the quake was felt with magnitudes as follow: [Level 3]: Niudou in Yilan

Read more