Clean-up of the explosion site at a department store in the city of Taichung in central Taiwan was finished on Friday.
The explosion that killed four people and injured 32 occurred at about 11:00 local time in a food court on the 12th floor of the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi Department Store, which substantially damaged both the facade and interior of the building.
Initial investigation suggested that the explosion was linked to a gas leak caused by construction work in the food court area. However, the involved gas company said that gas lines had been shut off before the explosion, and some workers reported smelling gas at the site. Authorities are continuing their investigation to determine the exact cause.
Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen confirmed that investigators entered the site on Thursday evening to collect evidence, and the store will remain closed indefinitely until authorities confirm the structural safety of the building and complete their investigation.
Explosion site at Taiwan department store cleaned up
Explosion site at Taiwan department store cleaned up
Explosion site at Taiwan department store cleaned up
More than 320 million inter-regional passenger trips were expected across China on Wednesday, the 18th day of this year's 40-day Spring Festival travel rush period and the second day of the Chinese New Year, according to data released by the Ministry of Transport.
This figure marks a sharp 43.1 percent growth from the previous day, the Chinese New Year, with family reunions and tourism overlapping to fuel a surge in short-distance travel.
Nationwide, railways were expecting to handle 10.8 million passenger trips, up 78.5 percent from Tuesday.
To meet this surge, rail operators were planning to run an additional 476 passenger trains on Wednesday.
Highway traffic was projected to surpass 50 million vehicle trips, putting pressure on roads around popular tourist sites.
Around 2.48 million passenger trips on planes were also expected on Wednesday.
Routes from major cities like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Chengdu, and Chongqing to tourist cities such as Harbin and Kunming are the most popular, with many airlines boosting capacity on those high-demand routes.
The travel rush, also known as chunyun, which runs from Feb 2 to March 13 this year, is expected to see a record 9.5 billion inter-regional passenger trips across the country.
Over 320 mln inter-regional passenger trips expected on Day 18 of Spring Festival travel rush
