Deadly gas explosion in Taiwan shopping mall kills 4, injures 30

An explosion at a department store in the city of Taichung in central Taiwan has killed four people and injured 30 as of 20:00 on Thursday.

It was previously reported that five people had died in the explosion. However, one critically injured survivor with cardiac arrest was resuscitated, leading to the revision of death toll to four.

All those injured in the blast have been hospitalized, and no additional victims remain trapped in the department store, according to local authorities.

Taichung's municipal news bureau said that the emergency has been brought under control following a day of search and rescue work. The department store has been ordered to close its business, and prosecutorial authorities have launched an investigation to determine the cause of the blast.

The explosion occurred at about 11:00 in a food court on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store, causing significant damage to the building's interior and exterior.

Taichung's fire department dispatched 27 fire engines and 62 firefighters to carry out the rescue mission. The municipal government immediately implemented traffic restrictions, and later set up an emergency response center to coordinate relevant departments in handling the incident and its aftermath.

"I work nearby. I heard the explosion first, then the sound of multiple ambulances. Later, I saw more details online," said Mrs. Lin, a local resident.

Chavet, another resident, didn't hear the blast herself but was stunned to learn about it from others, saying it was hard to believe such an incident could happen in an upscale mall.

"I heard about it because I just live over here. It was very loud they said. I didn't hear. I was probably watching TV or something, so I didn't hear. But they said they could hear it and the building shook at my place. It's really sad. I've lived in Asia for seventeen years. I wouldn't think it here because it's a really upscale mall, really nice," she said.

Penalties will be handed to those found accountable for the explosion, and bereavement funds will be allocated accordingly, according to the municipal government.

China's outstanding aggregate social financing -- the total amount of financing to the real economy -- reached 442.12 trillion yuan (about 63.4 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of 2025, up 8.3 percent year on year, central bank data showed on Thursday.

The country's aggregate social financing stood at 35.6 trillion yuan (about 5.1 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, up by 3.34 trillion yuan (about 479 billion U.S. dollars) from the year 2024, said the People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank.

According to the data, the M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, increased 8.5 percent year on year to 340.29 trillion yuan (about 48.8 trillion U.S. dollars) as of the end of December.

In addition, outstanding yuan loans stood at 271.91 trillion yuan (about 39 trillion U.S. dollars) at the end of 2025, up 6.4 percent year on year.