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Death toll climbs to 24 in Taiwan gas explosions, hundreds injured

THE death toll in gas leak explosions that hit Kaohsiung City in Taiwan on Thursday has risen to 24, latest data from the island's firefighting authority showed.

As of 9 a.m. Friday local time, 271 others were injured, according to the data.

The number of casualties could continue to rise as the explosions caused a road surface to collapse and people might have fallen into the hollows.

The island's firefighting authority said gas leaks were reported in the city's Cianjhen District at around 8:46 p.m. Thursday, leading to multiple explosions that affected an area as large as three square kilometers.

Earlier, a statement by the city government said the dead included several fire fighters.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu said that the incident was the worst of its kind in the recent decade.

The numbers of casualties may keep increasing as the explosion caused road surface to collapse and people may fell into the hollows.

The island's fire-fighting authority said gas leaks were reported in the city's Cianjhen district at around 8:46 p.m. Thursday, leading to multiple explosions that affected an area as large as three square kilometers.

Jiang Yi-huah, the island's executive chief, is coordinating the rescue operations at an emergency response center that was put into operation at 0:40 am Friday.

The cause of the gas leak is still under investigation.

Taiwan leader Ma Ying-jeou has urged relevant authorities to help the rescue, according to his office spokeswoman MaWei-kuo.






 

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