‘The hospital is more important’: Mechanic dies in Taiwan hospital fire after returning to work during typhoon

Mechanic in Taiwan dies in hospital fire

On Thursday morning (3 Oct), a hospital fire broke out in Pingtung, Taiwan, claiming nine lives.

One of the deceased was 57-year-old Wang, who worked as a mechanic in the hospital.

According to his older brother, Wang had not been rostered to work on the day of the fire.

Manpower shortage due to typhoon

Local news reported that the hospital had been facing a manpower shortage due to Typhoon Krathon.

The day of the fire had been the third day of a typhoon holiday declared in the Southern Pingtung county, one of the cities bearing the brunt of the storm.

As a result of the typhoon, only one mechanic was on duty on that day.

The hospital requested Wang to come in, which he had agreed to quickly despite dealing with a water leakage at home caused by the typhoon.

“The hospital is more important,” said Wang to his brother who shared the story with reporters.

Helped to put out fire

Preliminary findings place the origin of fire at an electrical room on the second floor of the hospital.

Wang and another employee on duty had been the ones to notice the fire, and the former had tried to put out the blaze.

However, in his attempt to stop the fire from spreading, the mechanic was unfortunately unable to evacuate in time.

First responders discovered his body in the afternoon, at which point he had lost signs of life. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

Wang was a container truck driver before being employed at the hospital and had been a committed and responsible employee since then.

The exact cause of the fire is presently under investigation.

Also read: Thai teacher who perished in school bus fire hugged students until her final breath

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Featured image adapted from ETtoday.