Death toll rises to nine in southern Taiwan factory blaze, one still missing

PINGTUNG - Two more bodies were found Sunday morning, more than 24 hours after a factory fire and subsequent explosions at an industrial park in southern Taiwan's Pingtung County, reported Central News Agency (CNA).

As of 8am Sunday, the incident at a golf ball manufacturer Launch Technologies Co.'s factory at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park killed at least nine people, including four firefighters, and injured 98, according to the local government.

Search teams are still looking for the one missing person, said Hsu Mei-hsueh, the head of the county's Bureau of Fire and Emergency Services, on Sunday.

The fire started at the factory Friday evening and was extinguished at 9.56pm Saturday after more than 28 hours of firefighting efforts, according to the bureau.

The four firefighters who died in the fire were all in their 30s.

Hsu said the bureau received a call about the fire at 5.31pm on Friday, and firefighters arrived at the location 12 minutes later.

At 6.09pm, an explosion occurred after firefighters had entered the premises, causing part of the structure to collapse and trapping several firefighters and workers beneath the rubble.

A few minutes later, a second explosion occurred, Hsu said. - BERNAMA-CNA