Taipei (Taiwan): A fire at a hospital in southern Taiwan killed at least eight people on Thursday as the island was being battered by a typhoon. The fire occurred in Pingtung county, which has been hit hard by Typhoon Krathon, which made landfall in the afternoon with torrential rains and heavy winds and has brought parts of the island to a standstill. Those who died inhaled smoke from the fire, the source of which was still under investigation.
Soldiers from a nearby base were mobilized to aid medical workers and firefighters in the evacuation of patients and putting out the flames. Reports said 176 patients were rushed to the front entrance and transferred to ambulances or tarps were used to shield them from the pouring rain. They were moved to shelters nearby.
Krathon made landfall in the major port city of Kaohsiung, packing winds of 126 kph with higher gusts, according to Taiwan’s weather authorities.
The slow-moving typhoon has doused eastern and southern parts of the island over the past five days, forcing thousands to evacuate from mountainous or low-lying areas. The weather administration has Kaohsiung and Pingtung County residents to not go outside when the eye of the storm passes above their area.
2 killed in typhoon
Taiwan's fire department reported two deaths as the approaching typhoon brought torrential rains across the island. Both fatalities were on the mountainous and sparsely populated east coast, one man falling while trimming a tree and another man whose vehicle was hit by a falling rock. Parts of eastern Taiwan recorded rainfall of more than 1.6 metres (5.2 ft), bringing rocks and mud cascading down onto roads.
The Southern Taiwan Science Park, which is home to one of chipmaker TSMC's main factories, said operations were continuing as normal. The typhoon is forecast to slowly work its way up Taiwan's flat western plain and weaken further into a tropical depression by late Friday before reaching the capital Taipei. All domestic flights were cancelled for a second day, as well as 236 international ones. The north-south high-speed rail line suspended services from central to southern Taiwan until early evening.
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