Taipei, Aug. 27 (CNA) The Kuomintang's (KMT's) Kaohsiung City Council caucus filed a lawsuit against Mayor Chen Chu Wednesday, accusing her of negligence that it said led to heavy casualties in a series of gas explosions in the city on July 31.

At a press conference at the council Wednesday, KMT council caucus whip Lu Shu-mei accused the opposition Democratic Progressive Party mayor of dereliction of duty and failing to prevent the disaster in the three hour-period prior to the explosions, when suspected gas leaks were reported.

Led by Lu and city council speaker Hsu Kun-yuan, the KMT council caucus filed the lawsuit at the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors' Office against Chen, Deputy Mayor Liu Shih-fang, and the heads of the Kaohsiung City Fire Bureau, Environmental Protection Bureau and Labor Affairs Bureau.

After filing the lawsuits, Hsu told reporters that the Kaohsiung City government has been trying to cover up its mistakes instead of admitting to the errors that resulted in the deaths of 30 people and injuries to 300.

Hsu also said he will find every civil servant who is culpable.

The explosions, which ripped through the streets of Kaohsiung close to midnight on July 31, are believed to have been caused by a leaky underground pipeline owned by a local petrochemical company LCY Chemical Corp.

(By Chen Chao-fu and Christie Chen)
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