Typhoon Gaemi hits Taiwan’s east coast: mother dead, child critical after brick wall falls 6 floors onto car
A woman died, and child was critically injured, when a section of brick wall collapsed in Hualien City earlier this evening, landing on a car stopped at an intersection.
Video footage of the incident showed a sheet-metal structure on the roof of a six-storey building being blown away by strong winds before a section of brick wall fell onto the road below. The slab landed on the rear section of a small, white sedan that had just come to a stop at the intersection.
Hualien City Fire Department received reports of the accident on the corner of Zhongmei 10th Street and Zhongxing Road at around 5:30 pm. Paramedics responding found a 45-year-old woman, named Gao, without vital signs, and a 7-year-old boy unconscious in the vehicle. Both were rushed to hospital, but Gao was declared dead at around 7:00 pm.
Winds generated by the approach of Typhoon Gaemi were blowing at an estimated 43 meters per second at the time of the accident.
Hualien County Fire Department urged people not to go out unless necessary during the typhoon in order to avoid danger.
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