Nearly 70 houses damaged, 15 people injured in fire and explosion in Taiwan — newspaper

HONG KONG, August 23. /TASS/. At least 15 people were injured and 68 houses were damaged in a fire that started on Saturday at a garbage dump in southwestern Taiwan, according to the Taipei Times newspaper, which said it took several hours to put out the fire.

The flames broke out in a pile of waste on a vacant lot, followed by an explosion, whose causes are being investigated. Fifty·three fire crews and more than 140 firefighters were sent to the site to fight the flames and evacuate residents. By now, the fire was extinguished.

According to the latest data, 12 local residents and three firefighters were injured. Three houses located closest to the explosion site sustained serious damage; the other buildings suffered less severe damage. The prosecutor’s office launched an investigation.