A family of four generations from Macau was affected by a gas explosion at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in central Taiwan’s Taichung City on Thursday, resulting in two fatalities and five injuries – and the Public Security Police confirmed the next day that the victims include a retired PSP officer and an in-service officer from the Police Tactical Intervention Unit (UTIP) as well as a staff member of the Fortuna casino-hotel in Zape.
According to Taiwan media reports, an explosion on Thursday morning, suspected to have been caused by a leaking gas pipe during renovation work at the food court on the 11th and 12th floors of the building, resulted in the destruction of the building’s external wall, cracked windows on several floors, and falling building materials and bricks. The blast killed four people and injured at least 39, including a Macau family surnamed Tang, who were passing by the building and were about to enter the nearby department store. The other two fatal victims were Taiwan residents employed by the department store.
Taichung City Mayor Lu Shiow-yen said reportedly that the seven Macau tourists were struck by falling objects in front of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store, in which, according to the city’s Cheng Ching Hospital, the family’s grandfather was confirmed dead at the accident scene, while the grandmother was pronounced dead after the hospital’s treatment to save her life had failed. Their two-year-old granddaughter, who had suffered cardiopulmonary arrest at one point and was intubated due to severe head trauma and lung contusions, has been transferred to China Medical University Hospital.
During a regular press conference on Friday, Public Security Police (PSP) spokesman Lam Keong identified one of the deceased in the blast as a retired PSP officer and one of the injured males as a serving UTIP officer. Lam said that the Public Security Police were “very concerned” about the incident and conveyed their deepest sympathies and condolences to the victims and their family members, adding that the Public Security Police would continue to maintain close communication with the Macau Government Tourism Office’s (MGTO) crisis assistance team and render their full and appropriate assistance to the victims and their family members.
The Fortuna casino-hotel expressed in a statement on Friday its deepest condolences to its “cooperative colleague” who was killed in the gas explosion and who had worked at the casino for two decades, promising that the company “will do its utmost to provide support and assist the family in this time of grief”, including to liaise with the hospitals in Taichung through the group’s Yin Kui Hospital to provide the families with the immediate medical assistance they need as well as financial support for immediate medical treatment there.
Girl remains in coma, not recommended to return Macau
As reported on Friday, the girl, who then was in a coma, remained in the hospital’s intensive care unit (ICU) with stable vital signs after craniotomy surgery. However, due to severe brain damage, swelling, and a lack of oxygen and blood, doctors recommended that she, at least for the time being, does not return to Macau for treatment as “the following week will be critical”. The girl was, as reported yesterday, still receiving treatment that includes medication and temperature control.
In the accident, according to multiple media reports, the girl’s 85-year-old great-grandmother and 24-year-old uncle sustained multiple injuries, while her parents suffered contusions. The uncle, who suffered fractures in his face and hands, has undergone surgery and was reportedly stable on Friday, while the great-grandmother sustained fractures to her left rib and arms.
MGTO to assist in returning remains
Macau’s tourism crisis assistance team arrived in Taichung in conjunction with the Macau Red Cross on Thursday night for full assistance to the victims. MGTO said in a statement on Saturday that two of the three hospitalised victims had completed surgery and were in stable condition, while the other – the two-year-old girl – was still in the ICU, noting that the MGTO crisis team and the Red Cross were assisting the family in arranging the transport of the two victims’ remains back to Macau.
According to the statement, staff members of the insurance company concerned in Macau have arrived in Taichung to assist the family in following up on the claim.
Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Store Manager Wendy Tsao Mei-hong said at a press conference on Saturday that the group would provide each family of the deceased with NT$11 million (2.68 million patacas) in compensation, including consolation money and insurance claims.
The explosion remains under investigation, and the results are expected to be released within a month at the earliest, according to several media reports.
Rubble including bricks litters the entrance after Thursday’s deadly gas explosion at the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store in Taichung. – AFP
