Kaohsiung to compensate two for gas explosion

Taiwan News
DateL 2016-08-30
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Kaohsiung City Government needed to pay NT$910,000 (US$28,700) in compensation to two residents for the damage they suffered during the 2014 gas explosion, the Kaohsiung District Court ruled Tuesday.

The blast on July 31, 2014 killed 32 and injured 321 people, but the vast majority of victims or their relatives chose not to file action against the city government. Only 11 did so, and Tuesday’s verdict concerned two of them.

The blast was reportedly caused by a buildup of propene inside a pipeline under an urban area which had not been checked for two decades. When irregularities were found at the scene, it took the companies hours to shut down the pipeline, with the blasts occurring shortly after, close to midnight.     [FULL  STORY]