One worker dead, another injured after crane tips over during building cleaning

Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) One worker died and another was injured Saturday when a crane tipped over during exterior wall cleaning at the Yilan Science Park in northeastern Taiwan, according to the Yilan County Fire Bureau.

The bureau said it received a report at 8:49 a.m. that two workers had fallen to the ground after the crane they were working on suddenly toppled while they were cleaning the exterior wall of an office building on Yike South Road in the science park.

Upon receiving the report, the bureau immediately dispatched rescue teams from its Yilan and Yuanshan divisions. When rescuers arrived, they found one worker, surnamed Chen (陳), had stopped breathing with no heartbeat.

Chen was rushed to National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University Hospital for emergency treatment but was pronounced dead at 10:05 a.m., the bureau said.

The other worker, surnamed Wu (吳), remained conscious and was initially diagnosed with a fractured left femur and a deformed left thigh. He also sustained a laceration on his chin and abrasions on his right elbow and fingers, the bureau said.

Wu was undergoing further examination at the same hospital, it added.

The exact cause of the accident is pending further investigation by the relevant authorities, according to the bureau.