Week3:Cause of park explosion still under review
The New
Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office has ruled out several possible causes for the
dust explosion at the Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸) water park nearly two months ago, but its
conclusion on the cause is still pending official reports from the city
government, New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday.
The explosion
happened in May, killing 11 people and injuring 488.
According to
media reports, the minimum ignition temperature for the colored dust powder is 430°C and after repeated testing, the office
ruled out cigarettes, static electricity and other causes as potential sources
of ignition.
The reports
point to the beam lights often used at parties as the likely source of the
ignition, saying that the lights were the closest possible source to the
original site of ignition — the west end of the stage — and that the bulbs used
in the lights could have reached temperatures of up to 450°C due to prolonged use.
Hou said the
disaster report has not yet been finalized and was still being looked into by
prosecutors and the fire investigation division of the city’s Fire Department.
The city
government is still waiting for the assessment report, Hou said.
When asked
about the possibility that the Formosa Fun Coast may seek to absolve itself of
responsibility over the issue because the powder and lighting were all provided
by Lu Chung-chi (呂忠吉), the head
organizer of the Color Play (玩色創意) event, Hou
said that is pending investigation.
The questions
were due to Hou’s repeated comments that the park should not expect to escape
from the incident unscathed.
Meanwhile,
addressing the concerns of family members that it might be difficult to ask for
reparations due to a lack of certainty over who is responsible for the
incident, Hou said that the city government is looking into the incident, along
with the prosecutors’ office.
Hou said the
government would do its best to determine who is responsible and that it would
not let anyone who is criminally responsible off the hook.
Key words:
Prosecutor起訴人
Finalized完成
Assessment評定
Absolve免除
Unscathed毫髮無損
Meanwhile期間
Reparations賠償
Structure of the Lead:
where- Formosa Fun Coast (八仙海岸)
what- not given
why-the minimum ignition temperature for the colored dust powder is 430°C and after repeated testing, the office ruled out cigarettes, static electricity and other causes as potential sources of ignition.
which-not given
when-not given
who-not given
