Man recalls frantic drive to save toddler hurt in Taichung blast

Taichung, Feb. 15 (CNA) A driver who rushed an injured toddler to a hospital after a deadly explosion at a Taichung mall on Thursday recounted his life-saving journey to the media on Saturday.

"I'll take you to the hospital," recalled the 55-year-old driver, who was passing by the Shin Kong Mitsukoshi department store moments after the mall explosion at around noon.

The blast, caused by a suspected gas leak, killed four people and left many others seriously injured, including a 2-year-old girl from Macau.

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As her parents frantically searched for help, a driver, surnamed Tsai (蔡), rolled down his window to offer a ride to the nearest hospital.

"Take the back seat," Tsai said, as the girl's parents placed her into his car, while her mother cried out in Cantonese, "There's so much blood," as recorded in footage from Tsai's dashcam.

After handing tissues to the parents, Tsai sped toward the Chung Kang Branch of the Cheng Ching Hospital, running red lights, overtaking cars, and even driving in the bus lane, as the parents clung to their daughter in the back seat.

Tsai, originally from Nantou County, said he heard an explosion just as he was about to enter the department store's parking lot. He then saw debris falling from the upper floors of the mall, scattering across the ground.

As he drove by the plaza in front of the mall, Tsai said he noticed people lying on the ground, including a mother holding her child while trying to run toward an ambulance that had stopped by the roadside, with her husband following closely behind. The scene prompted Tsai to stop his car and ask if they needed a ride to the hospital.

The 2-year-old girl from Macau, who remains in intensive care after being transferred to China Medical University Children's Hospital, was walking past the department store with six other family members when the explosion struck during their visit to Taichung.

Hospital officials told reporters on Friday that the girl had undergone an emergency craniotomy, a surgical procedure in which a bone flap is temporarily removed from the skull to access the brain.

In an update on Saturday, officials said the girl is receiving treatment through medication and temperature regulation therapy, with her condition remaining similar to the day before when she was reported to have a Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) score of 3.

A GCS score ranges from 3 to 15, with 3 indicating complete unresponsiveness and 15 full responsiveness.

Among those hit by falling debris, the girl's grandfather was killed instantly, and the grandmother was pronounced dead at a hospital shortly after. Her parents sustained minor bruises, while her great-grandmother suffered fractures to her ribs and arm, and her uncle sustained fractures to his face and hand.

As of 6 p.m. Saturday, the explosion had resulted in four deaths and 36 injuries, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Five of the injured are in intensive care while six are in general wards, the ministry said.