Suspected leakage of organic solvents such as methyl methyl ethyl ketone caused an explosion at Taiwan's Panasonic multi-layer materials factory, injuring 5 and leaving 2 missing

A fire at a Panasonic materials factory in Taiwan triggered multiple violent explosions, sending black smoke into the sky. The explosions and fires injured five employees and left two missing. (Photo: Provided by Hsinchu County Fire Department)

Taiwan Panasonic Multilayer Materials Co., Ltd. in the Hsinchu Industrial Park heard huge explosions at nearly 2 o'clock yesterday morning, and a fire broke out in the factory. Black smoke rose into the sky, waking up surrounding residents. The explosion and fire injured five employees and left two people missing; New The Zhuxian Fire Department dispatched nearly 100 personnel, ladder trucks and disaster relief robots to the rescue, and stated that a large amount of flammable chemical solvents were stored in the factory. Preliminary research determined that organic solvents such as methyl methyl ethyl ketone leaked, causing an explosion. Violent flames suddenly burst out, causing the factory to fall into a sea of ​​fire.

A series of huge explosions in the early morning woke up nearby residents

Hsinchu County Mayor Yang Wenke rushed to the scene to investigate the disaster and said that five employees were slightly injured and sent to the hospital. Two of them are Vietnamese and three are Taiwanese. Two Taiwanese employees surnamed Xu and Jiang are missing. The storage tanks in the factory store organic solvents such as methanol and butanone, and all the wastewater generated has been intercepted in the internal wastewater pool to prevent outflow.

The fire department stated that the fire scene was a five-story steel frame and iron factory building in Building A. The fire was fierce and explosions continued to be heard during the rescue process. Firefighters immediately deployed three ladder trucks to spray water from high altitude, and set up two turrets and two water lines to simultaneously put out fires to control the fire and prevent it from spreading. Yesterday, a total of 80 firefighters, 60 firefighters, chemical trucks, drones, ladder trucks, disaster relief robots and reservoir trucks were dispatched to the rescue. The North District Environmental Accident Professional Technical Team also arrived at the scene to provide support.

Black smoke rose into the sky and the fire was so fierce that a third of the factory was burned down.

Fire Chief Chen Zhongzhen said that the factory's fire safety inspections had been normal in the past, and the most recent inspection passed in August. The fire was an explosive combustion. There were flammable chemical solvents such as methanol and methyl ethyl ketone in the storage tank of Building A. The explosion instantly caused a violent fire, causing the factory area to fall into a sea of ​​​​fire. The burning area accounted for about one-third of the entire factory area, about 10,000 square meters, and spread to the first to third floors.

An explosion and fire broke out at a Panasonic materials factory in Taiwan, injuring five employees and leaving two missing. (Photo by reporter Liao Xueru)