Three members of a Macao family are still receiving treatment in hospital following yesterday morning’s department store explosion in the Taiwanese city of Taichung, which killed and injured members of the family of seven.
In a statement published this morning, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) said that among the three still hospitalised, one – a two-year old girl – was in intensive care at the China Medical University Hospital.
The girl’s vital signs remain stable following an operation, but she sustained serious head injuries, said neurosurgeon Yu-Kai Cheng in an interview earlier this morning. He added that the girl was in critical condition, and asked that she be not moved to Macao for treatment for the time being.
Two other members of the family that were injured in the blast have been discharged from the hospital. Meanwhile, transport of the bodies of the two family members killed in the explosion is being arranged by the local Red Cross in coordination with the relevant departments.
[See more: Food court renovation a possible cause of Taichung blast]
According to multiple media reports, the two Macao fatalities are a 58-year-old grandmother and a 56-year-old grandfather, who were both crushed by debris during the blast. Taichung mayor Lu Shiow-yen, said yesterday that the Macao family were passing by the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi shopping centre on the ground floor when the explosion occurred.
The local fire department said that the blast had caused four deaths and 29 injuries. Authorities are currently investigating the cause of the explosion, which occurred at around 11:30 am yesterday, but suspect it to be the result of a gas explosion that occurred during the renovation of a food court.
Representatives from Macao’s Tourism Crisis Management Office and Red Cross visited the injured and bereaved upon arriving in Taichung yesterday night. The officials relayed the condolences of Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai.
The general manager of Shin Kong Mitsukoshi, Wu Xin Yang, who was at the scene of the deadly explosion yesterday, has promised condolence payments of TWD$1 million (US$30,491) to the families of the four deceased.
