Taiwan factory fire leaves at least 5 dead, more than 100 injured
FILE - In this photo released by the Taiwan Presidential Office, Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen speaks in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday, April 11, 2023. In a speech in Taipei on Saturday Ing-wen expressed her condolences to the families of the victims of a golf ball factory fire. (Taiwan Presidential Office via AP, File)
BEIJING -
A fire and subsequent explosions at a golf ball factory in southern Taiwan killed at least five people and injured more than 100 others, and five people are still missing.
The fire began on Friday night at the factory in Pingtung county and raged overnight. Three firefighters were among the dead, authorities said.
Rescuers were still looking for four factory workers and one firefighter who remained unaccounted for, officials said.
More than 100 people were taken to the hospital with injuries.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in a speech in Taipei on Saturday expressed her condolences to the families of the victims and said she would travel to Pingtung to visit those affected by the disaster, according to Taiwanese news outlet Focus Taiwan.
Tsai said the Pingtung county government had set up an emergency operation centre to offer assistance to those impacted by the fire.
Chou Chun-mi, magistrate of Pingtung county, said in a Facebook post that the cause of the fire was still under investigation.
"Facing the grief of the family members, I could not say anything except to bow deeply, apologize, and express my deepest condolences," she said in the post, after visiting the funeral home and meeting with victims' families.
Authorities said that natural gas may have contributed to the explosions, which occurred as firefighters were attempting to put out the fire.
Shopping Trends
The Shopping Trends team is independent of the journalists at CTV News. We may earn a commission when you use our links to shop. Read about us.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Alleged Montreal-area 'Chinese police stations' planning to sue RCMP for $2.5 million
Two Chinese community centres in the Montreal area are planning to launch a $2.5 million defamation lawsuit against the RCMP and the Attorney General of Canada after being accused by the police force of hosting 'alleged Chinese police stations.'
With Canada set to reimpose cap on working hours, international students worry about paying for tuition, living expenses
Canada is set to reimpose the cap on the number of hours that international students can work off campus. But with heightened cost-of-living concerns in Canada, many international students say they're not sure how they'll be able to afford their tuition and living expenses if they can't work full-time.
Inmate stabbed Derek Chauvin 22 times, charged with attempted murder, prosecutors say
A federal inmate was charged Friday with attempted murder in the prison stabbing of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.
Lawyer in Ali murder trial says 13-year-old B.C. victim was not an 'innocent'
Ibrahim Ali's lawyer says the 13-year-old girl he's accused of murdering in a British Columbia park wasn't the “innocent” depicted in a “rose-coloured” portrayal by the Crown at trial.
'Jumped over their heads': Kangaroo escapes Ontario zoo during overnight stay
The search for a kangaroo that escaped an Ontario zoo will resume on Saturday morning, according to staff and volunteers.
Mild, rainy winter expected as Canada warms at twice the global rate
Winter will be unusually warm and rainy across much of the country this year, according to the latest data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
Here's how Air Canada's new baggage tracking app works
Air Canada is hoping to give its customers more confidence when travelling with checked luggage through a new baggage tracking feature.
Paraguay official resigns after signing agreement with fictional country
A Paraguayan government official was replaced after it was revealed that he signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of a fugitive Indian guru's fictional country, who also appear to have duped several local officials in the South American country.
CSIS to probe B.C. office after allegations of rape, harassment and toxic workplace
Canada's spy agency says it has launched a workplace assessment of its British Columbia office over 'serious allegations' raised by whistleblowers who say they were sexually assaulted and harassed by a senior officer.
Canada
-
Lawyer in Ali murder trial says 13-year-old B.C. victim was not an 'innocent'
Ibrahim Ali's lawyer says the 13-year-old girl he's accused of murdering in a British Columbia park wasn't the “innocent” depicted in a “rose-coloured” portrayal by the Crown at trial.
-
With Canada set to reimpose cap on working hours, international students worry about paying for tuition, living expenses
Canada is set to reimpose the cap on the number of hours that international students can work off campus. But with heightened cost-of-living concerns in Canada, many international students say they're not sure how they'll be able to afford their tuition and living expenses if they can't work full-time.
-
Mild, rainy winter expected as Canada warms at twice the global rate
Winter will be unusually warm and rainy across much of the country this year, according to the latest data from Environment and Climate Change Canada.
-
Ottawa didn't verify disputed Metis communities covered by federal bill: official
A high-ranking federal official says Ottawa has not verified the legitimacy of disputed Metis communities in Ontario that have been at the centre of heated debate over a government bill.
-
Flu season has officially started in Canada, public health agency says
The Public Health Agency of Canada says flu season is officially underway in this country. As of Nov. 25, 7.5 per cent of people tested for influenza across Canada were positive.
-
'Last-minute' amendment to Quebec health bill would allow agency to revoke hospital's bilingual status
A new amendment to Quebec's mammoth health-care bill would allow the new Sante Quebec agency to revoke a health-care institution's bilingual status — a move English-rights activists say is shocking.
World
-
Inmate stabbed Derek Chauvin 22 times, charged with attempted murder, prosecutors say
A federal inmate was charged Friday with attempted murder in the prison stabbing of Derek Chauvin, the former Minneapolis police officer convicted of murdering George Floyd.
-
Retired Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the first woman on the U.S. Supreme Court, has died at age 93
Retired U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, an unwavering voice of moderate conservatism and the first woman to serve on the nation's highest court, died Friday. She was 93.
-
Paraguay official resigns after signing agreement with fictional country
A Paraguayan government official was replaced after it was revealed that he signed a memorandum of understanding with representatives of a fugitive Indian guru's fictional country, who also appear to have duped several local officials in the South American country.
-
A world away from the West Bank, Vermont shooting victims and their families face new grief and fear
Nearly a week after three college students of Palestinian descent were shot and seriously wounded while taking an evening walk, relatives of two of the victims have arrived in Vermont from the war-torn West Bank, grappling with a new reality that has shattered their lives and a place they thought was a safe haven.
-
India-U.S. ties could face their biggest test in years after a foiled assassination attempt on a Sikh
India-U.S. ties could now face their biggest test in recent years, after U.S. prosecutors this week accused an Indian official of directing a plot to assassinate a prominent Sikh separatist leader living in New York City.
-
Klete Keller, Olympic gold medalist swimmer, gets 6 months in home detention for Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Olympic gold medalist swimmer Klete Keller, who threw his USA team jacket in a trash can after he stormed the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Friday to six months of home detention for joining the mob's Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the seat of American democracy.
Politics
-
Liberals, NDP, Bloc accuse Conservatives of stalling Canada-Ukraine free trade deal
Conservatives faced a barrage of partisan fire Friday in the House of Commons as their political rivals accused the official Opposition of trying to stall measures aimed at helping Ukraine.
-
Court decisions forced some rethink of oil, gas emissions cap: Minister Guilbeault
The Liberal government had to delay its long-promised regulations to cap emissions from oil and gas production in Canada because of two recent court decisions forcing Ottawa to tread more carefully on climate policy affecting provinces, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Friday.
-
CSIS to probe B.C. office after allegations of rape, harassment and toxic workplace
Canada's spy agency says it has launched a workplace assessment of its British Columbia office over 'serious allegations' raised by whistleblowers who say they were sexually assaulted and harassed by a senior officer.
Health
-
Flu season has officially started in Canada, public health agency says
The Public Health Agency of Canada says flu season is officially underway in this country. As of Nov. 25, 7.5 per cent of people tested for influenza across Canada were positive.
-
Pfizer nixes more study of twice-daily obesity pill treatment that made many patients nauseous
Pfizer shares sank Friday when the drugmaker said it would abandon a twice-daily obesity treatment after more than half the patients in a clinical trial stopped taking it.
-
'Dramatic' increases in younger Canadians' deaths contributed to our reduced life expectancy
Amid a declining life expectancy across the country, new national data released this week show that years on from the beginning of the pandemic, COVID-19 and the opioid crisis have had lasting impacts on life and death in Canada.
Sci-Tech
-
Not so dead as a dodo: 'De-extinction' plan to reintroduce bird to Mauritius
An audacious collaboration between geneticists and conservationists plans to bring back the extinct dodo and reintroduce it to its once-native habitat in Mauritius.
-
Montana's first-in-the-nation ban on TikTok blocked by judge who says it's unconstitutional
Montana's first-in-the-nation law banning the video-sharing app TikTok in the state was blocked Thursday, one month before it was set to take effect, by a federal judge who called the measure unconstitutional.
-
Chinstrap penguins nod off more than 10,000 times per day in seconds-long 'microsleeps,' study finds
A new study has documented the peculiar sleeping habits of this species of penguin. Instead of taking one long continuous period of sleep, chinstrap penguins prefer to sleep in seconds-long intervals, more than 10,000 times a day.
Entertainment
-
Movie armourer in 'Rust' fatal shooting pleads not guilty to unrelated gun charge
The weapons supervisor on the film set where Alec Baldwin shot and killed a cinematographer in 2021 waived her arraignment in a separate case, pleading not guilty to a charge of carrying a gun into a Santa Fe bar.
-
Illinois appeals court affirms actor Jussie Smollett's convictions and jail sentence
An appeals court upheld the disorderly conduct convictions Friday of actor Jussie Smollett, who was accused of staging a racist, homophobic attack against himself in 2019 and lying about it to Chicago police.
-
Movie reviews: 'Maestro' is a stylish, passionate movie with enough depth to both warm and break your heart
This week, pop culture critic Richard Crouse reviews new movies 'Maestro,' 'May December,' 'Saltburn' and 'Silent Night.'
Business
-
Here's how Air Canada's new baggage tracking app works
Air Canada is hoping to give its customers more confidence when travelling with checked luggage through a new baggage tracking feature.
-
Walmart Canada investing $1 billion in modernization, 'store of the future'
Walmart Canada says it will invest nearly $1 billion this fiscal year on a slew of projects meant to modernize the retail giant's Canadian footprint.
-
BMO sees higher cost savings ahead thanks to Bank of the West, cuts to real estate
BMO Financial Group said Friday it expects higher cost savings from its US$16.3 billion Bank of the West acquisition as part of a wider focus on efficiencies to weather the economic slowdown.
Lifestyle
-
Fire upends Christmas charity in Michigan but thousands of kids will still get gifts
Donations are pouring in at a beloved Christmas charity after smoke damage from a fire stymied plans for the delivery of wrapped gifts for thousands of children in western Michigan.
-
This Saskatoon man just turned 104 years old and he still likes to boogie
A Saskatoon man is celebrating a remarkable milestone this week as he turns 104 years old. With a life that has spanned over ten decades, Nick Kazuska is still going strong.
-
'I just fell in love with it:' Montreal high school students learn how to cut hair
A small group of Montreal high school students is completing a 10-week program on cutting hair, learning everything from basic techniques to what it's like to run a barber shop.
Sports
-
Klete Keller, Olympic gold medalist swimmer, gets 6 months in home detention for Jan. 6 Capitol riot
Olympic gold medalist swimmer Klete Keller, who threw his USA team jacket in a trash can after he stormed the U.S. Capitol, was sentenced on Friday to six months of home detention for joining the mob's Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the seat of American democracy.
-
Bills linebacker Von Miller turns self in on felony domestic violence charge
Buffalo Bills linebacker Von Miller turned himself in to police in a Dallas suburb on Thursday after he was charged in a warrant with domestic violence against the mother of his children, who is pregnant, police said.
-
Female athletes sue the University of Oregon alleging Title IX violations by the school
Thirty-two female athletes filed a lawsuit against the University of Oregon on Friday that alleges the school is violating Title IX by not providing equal treatment and opportunities to women.
Autos
-
New technology installed beneath Detroit street can charge electric vehicles as they drive
Crews have installed what's billed as the nation's first wireless-charging public roadway for electric vehicles beneath a street just west of downtown Detroit.
-
New U.S. rules, aimed at curbing China, could limit tax credits for electric vehicles
The Biden administration proposed new rules Friday that could make it harder for electric vehicles to qualify for a full US$7,500 federal tax credit, complicating efforts to meet President Joe Biden's goal that half of new passenger vehicles sold in the U.S. run on electricity by 2030.
-
Tesla delivers about a dozen stainless steel Cybertruck pickups as it tries to fix production woes
With manufacturing kinks still to be worked out, Tesla delivered the first dozen or so of its futuristic Cybertruck pickups to customers Thursday, two years behind the original schedule amid uncertainty over when large-scale production will begin.
