Suspected Gas Explosion Kills Four At Taiwan Department Store

Taichung, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Feb, 2025) A suspected gas explosion in a Taiwan department store killed at least four people and injured 29, authorities said on Thursday, with the force of the blast spraying large pieces of debris over the street below.

The blast happened in the food court on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store in the city of Taichung, the National Fire Agency said.

The floor was closed for construction work at the time of the incident, the agency said.

Video posted on social media and verified by AFP showed the moment of the explosion, with cladding and other debris flying off the building and dust billowing from inside.

Liao Yu-fu, 26, told AFP he was woken from a nap by the sound of the explosion and thought it was a "plane hitting a house".

"There was a vibration and even my bed was shaking," said Liao, who can see the department store from his home.

"The sound lasted for a long time and I was scared.

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A woman who had been on the sixth floor of the store at the time said there was a "very loud vibration" and then debris began falling.

"At first, we thought it's an earthquake," the woman told local broadcaster TVBS.

"When I walked down the stairs, there was broken glass on every floor at the elevator entrance. Every floor is affected."

The blast killed four people and injured 29, the National Fire Agency said.

A person initially described as being "without vital signs" had been revived and was added to the injury toll.

A family of seven from Macau were among the casualties after they were hit by falling debris as they left the department store, a hospital official told reporters.

Two grandparents died and the five others were injured, including a two-year-old child who suffered a severe head wound, the official said.