Residents recall chaos after Taichung explosion

Residents interviewed by a stringer for China Global Television Network (CGTN) recalled explosion in the city of Taichung in central Taiwan on Thursday and spoke of the current situation.

The incident at a department store had killed four people and injured 30 as of 20:00 on Thursday.

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 situation 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 substantial damage to both the facade and interior of the building.

"We were in the nearby building at the time, attending a meeting. Then, all of a sudden, there was a strong tremor. All of us shook like this. I thought it was an earthquake. And it turned out it wasn't. Then words came out that there was an explosion next door. I saw the rescue team coming very soon. I think the rescue response was OK. It's pretty efficient," said Mr, Lan, a logistics operator.

Another resident said the explosion scene was chaotic and stressed the need to save lives.

"I was outdoors moving stuff at the time. Then I heard a boom. I thought it sounded like a bomb going off. Then I thought it could be the big crane falling from the top of the building. The explosion blew things to the other side of the street. It was very chaotic. Iron bars, steel ropes were blown away. This is what I saw then at the scene. Save people first! We really need to save people first. Other things can be dealt with later. All we have to do is save people first," said Mr. Shen, a laundry employee.

Initial investigation suggested that the explosion was linked to a gas leak caused by construction work. 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.

Residents recall chaos after Taichung explosion

The U.S.-Israeli airstrikes against Iran since February 28 have inflicted irreparable damage on the country's priceless cultural heritage sites, according to Hassan Fartousi, secretary-general of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday, Fartousi said that 132 cultural heritage items have been attacked in recent strikes, emphasizing that the losses extend far beyond monetary valuation.

"Last night, I was told that 132 pieces [items] of our cultural heritage have been attacked, and it is really impossible to say how much the costs are, and it can be said that these (damaged cultural heritage items) are priceless and irreparable. How can these be defined?" Fartousi said.

Among the most severely affected sites is the Golestan Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site inscribed in 2013.

Fartousi said that about 40 percent of the palace's historic mirror works, dating back nearly 220 years to the Qajar period, have been damaged.

"Unfortunately, in Golestan Palace, there are almost 40 percent of the mirror works [that] have been damaged which belong to almost 220 years ago, the Qajar period. The same situation [occurred] in the Saad Abad complex [in] which the Green Palace [was] attacked in a way which the specialists were telling me very sadly that it may not be possible to repair some of the damages," he said.

The Golestan Palace complex, selected as the royal residence and seat of power by the Qajar ruling family in the 19th century, has been described by UNESCO as "a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences."

The Saad Abad complex, a sprawling former royal compound in northern Tehran, encompasses an extensive park with multiple buildings now serving as museums dedicated to Iran's cultural history. The official residence of Iran's president is located adjacent to the site.

U.S.-Israeli airstrikes cause irreparable damage to Iran's cultural heritage sites: UNESCO official