Yu-Tzu Chiu
dpa
(TNS)
Taipei — At least seven people, including firefighters and workers, were killed and more than 100 people injured in an explosion at a factory in southern Taiwan, authorities said on Saturday.
The accident occurred late on Friday at a plant of golf ball manufacturer Launch Technologies Co, located in Pingtung County.
Search and rescue operations continued throughout the night and into the early hours of Saturday, state-run Central News Agency (CNA) reported. Firefighters were still at work on Saturday morning, but their work was suspended due to rains in the afternoon.
The seven Taiwanese victims include four firefighters and three workers, according to the Pingtung County government. Additionally, at least three workers remain missing.
Prosecutors from the Taiwan Pingtung Prosecutors Office said on Saturday that genetic tests are required to identify victims of the fire accident, CNA reported.
The blast caused a section of the factory building to collapse, trapping several individuals beneath the rubble, CNA reported.
On Saturday, dozens of injured people, including foreign migrant workers, were receiving treatment in hospitals in Pingtung County and in neighbouring Kaohsiung City.
The cause of the fire and subsequent explosion remained under investigation, authorities said.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Premier Chen Chien-jen on Saturday expressed their condolences to families of the deceased.
Tsai visited the accident site midday on Saturday. She said the Ministry of the Interior has been conducting investigations, hoping to clarify the cause of the accident as soon as possible.
Chen on Saturday visited injured people in hospitals in Pingtung County, vowing to offer sufficient compensation and assistance to families of the deceased and the injured.
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