Tag: Kaohsiung

Deadly Gas Explosions In Taiwan Killed 25 (Photos)

Tossed vehicles line an destroyed street as flames continue to burn from multiple explosions from an underground gas leak in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, early Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. A massive gas leakage early Friday caused five explosions that killed several people and injured over 200 in the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung. (AP Photo)
Tossed vehicles line an destroyed street as flames continue to burn from multiple explosions from an underground gas leak in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, early Friday, Aug. 1, 2014. A massive gas leakage early Friday caused five explosions that killed several people and injured over 200 in the southern Taiwan port city of Kaohsiung. (AP Photo)

Multiple gas explosions in the city of Kaohsiung, Taiwan at about midnight Thursday and early Friday , killed at least 25 people and injuring 267 others.

Four firefighters were among the dead and the death toll was likely to rise.

The explosions sparked a massive inferno with flames shooting up to 15 storeys into the air that tore through the city’s Cianjhen district.

The blast shook buildings like there was an earthquake, toppling small shops and throwing cars flying into the air.

One street had been split along its length, swallowing six fire engines and other vehicles.

Officials said that the fires were believed caused by a leak of underground propene pipelines.

Propene is a petrochemical material not intended for public use, but the cause and source of the leak were not immediately clear.

The National Fire Agency says on its website that one of the fires, along a 10-meter (33-foot) stretch of gas line, was still burning into midday Friday.

More than 1,100 had evacuated overnight.

Here are some photos of the aftermath….

Photos: Taiwan Plane Crash, 48 Killed

The plane came down in buildings in a village near Magong airport in Penghu
The plane came down in buildings in a village near Magong airport in Penghu

A Taiwanese ATR-72 TransAsia Airways plane crashed in Xixi village outside the Magong airport in Taiwan’s Penghu archipelago on Wednesday, July 23, 2014.

The ATR 72 turboprop aircraft departed from the southern municipality of Kaohsiung at 17:43 local time (09:43 GMT), but lost contact with controllers at 19:06, CNA said, citing the Civil Aeronautics Administration.

The plane, carrying 58 people, crashed into buildings after a failed attempt to land at Magong airport.

BBC News reported that forty-eight people were killed while another 10 people were injured.

A few empty apartment buildings adjacent to the runway caught fire after the crash.

Officials said that two French nationals were among the dead, and no crew members are thought to have survived.

Five Penghu residents were injured on the ground but by Thursday morning all had been discharged from hospital, the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) said.

Official said visibility at the time of the crash was 1,600m (one mile) and within acceptable standards for landing, despite the stormy weather.

Please click the photos for larger images:

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