Renovation work at a food court, which may have led to a gas explosion, has been mentioned as a possible cause of yesterday’s blast in the Taiwanese city of Taichung, which killed four people, two of them from the same Macao family. Another five members of the family were injured.
The city’s vice-mayor, Cheng Chao-hsin told media yesterday that any “illegal actions or parts that violated renovation regulations” would be “dealt with appropriately.”
A total of 26 people were injured in the explosion, which occurred on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store. Dashcam footage from passing vehicles shows debris cascading onto the streets below.
[See more: Macao residents among those killed and injured in a Taiwan mall explosion]
The two deceased from Macao were among a family of seven visiting from the SAR, according to multiple media reports. The surviving five members are being treated in hospital. Mayor Lu Shiow-yen told media that the family were at ground level, walking in the front of the store, when the blast occurred.
Macao’s top official, Chief Executive Sam Hou Fai, issued a statement yesterday evening expressing “profound condolences to the family of those Macao residents who have lost their lives in the incident,” and directing “relevant departments to provide full assistance to those from Macao either left injured or bereaved.”
Staff from the Tourism Crisis Management Office, alongside Macau Red Cross staff, travelled to Taiwan last night to offer assistance to the injured and bereaved.
