The Urban Development Bureau of the Taichung City Government preliminarily judged that the casualty accident was suspected to be caused by improper construction.

(Photo by reporter Liao Yaodong)

[Reporter Zhang Ruizhen/Taichung Report] In view of the collapse of a century-old house in Taichung City, causing 1 death and 2 trapped workers, Li Zhengwei, Director of the Urban Development Bureau of the Taichung City Government, rushed to the scene at noon today to understand the situation.

Li Zhengwei pointed out that the demolition and foundation excavation of the No. 7 old house was approved last year when the demolition license was applied for, and the demolition has been completed. Afterwards, the application for a building license for construction was also approved. It was not an illegal construction. The main cause of this accident may be improper construction.

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He pointed out that, including the collapsed old house No. 5, there are many old buildings in the Central District, which are the preservation of existing old legal houses. The structure of these old houses is relatively fragile, and special attention should be paid to safety during construction. It is only a first-floor building, not a high-rise building. Therefore, it may not have done a good job of construction safety maintenance, which led to this industrial safety accident. The Zhongshi government will follow up to strengthen construction safety when applying for building licenses for old buildings in the Central District. check.

Li Zhengwei emphasized that the first priority is rescue at the scene, and work has been ordered to stop. The current situation is that the No. 5 building (the old house) is falling in the direction of No. 7. After the rescue is completed tonight, safety measures should be taken first, and follow-up labor inspections will be carried out. The unit conducts industrial safety and license inspections, and whether it involves improper construction or industrial safety will be investigated and punished according to regulations.

Building No. 5 on the left can be seen at the scene, falling towards No. 7 (right).

(Courtesy of Fire Department)