A chain of powerful explosions that triggered a massive fire was heard from a factory producing incense sticks and ceremonial paper money in New Taipei City in northern Taiwan at 20:20 Saturday that killed at least four people.
The blasts shattered the windows that caused cuts or fractured bones from being thrown due to the strong pressure of the blasts among the 38 people who were hurt, Focus Taiwan reported.
Initial investigation showed that a truck that was unloading pyrotechnic materials was the source of the explosions that was heard 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) away.
The factory that is located on Section 3 of Chengtai Road in Wugu district was suspected to have been storing firecrackers for a religious festival slated next week.
The fire destroyed 35 houses nearby and left seven vehicles fully burned.
The fatalities included the owner of the factory, his mother, the truck driver and a car driver driving nearby.
Eleven teams from the fire department rushed to the scene. The fire was controlled at about 22:00, The China Post said.
Witnesses said the explosion of an electrical transformer box of the government-owned Taiwan Power Company could have ignited the fire. Gas leakage was also suspected to have been the cause of the fire accident according to some reports.
The police said they will investigate the case thoroughly.
Details of this report here.
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