Termites blamed for exploding pavement in Banqiao

New Taipei, April 14 (CNA) An explosion that split the pavement, sending debris into the air on a road in New Taipei's Banqiao District Tuesday, was caused by termites biting through a high-voltage cable, local authorities said.

The explosion occurred at 12:38 p.m. at the intersection of Xianmin Boulevard Section 2 and Minsheng Road Section 2 in Banqiao, just before Huacui Bridge which leads to Taipei.

After the blast was reported to police, both police and firefighters were dispatched to close off the damaged section of road and direct traffic. No injuries were reported.

The New Taipei Public Works Department, which took over the response, called Taiwan Power Co. (Taipower) and the natural gas distributor to inspect the site, and later confirmed that the blast was caused by damage to a 20,000-volt underground cable.

According to a preliminary investigation by Taipower, termites, which were found at the site, are believed to have chewed through a cable connector, causing the cable to short circuit and trigger a blast of air that ripped through the pavement, leaving a 2-square-meter hole, the department said.

The explosion caused a power outage that affected 4,726 area households, though power was restored for 3,910 households within 5 minutes and the remainder within one hour.

Following repairs to the cable by Taipower, the road surface was repaired and reopened to traffic at 5:30 p.m., the public works department said.