Garbagemen's brawl leaves 2 dead, 1 in critical condition

Taipei, Nov. 16 (CNA) An early morning street fight involving sanitation workers in Taipei has left two men dead and one in critical condition, police said Thursday.

According to police, a report of people fighting on Lanzhou Street in the city's Datong District was received at 4:36 a.m. Thursday.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found two men -- a 56-year-old surnamed Kao (高) and a 57-year-old surnamed Liao (廖) -- lying in a pool of blood with no vital signs, police said.

Kao and Liao, who had suffered lacerations to the chest and left thigh, respectively, were later pronounced dead at hospital, police added.

A third man, a 58-year-old surnamed Wang (王), is in critical condition after being stabbed in the chest, police said.

Police said that two paring knives, one folding knife and a baton were found at the scene.

According to police, there was mutual enmity between Kao and Wang, who worked together as municipal garbage collectors in Taipei's Datong District.

Police said a preliminary investigation had indicted that Kao and his friend Liao rode a scooter to Wang's residence early Thursday morning with the intention of starting a fight.

The exact cause of the incident was still under investigation, police added.