TAIPEI (TVBS News) — A scaffolding collapse at National Taiwan University Hospital (台大醫院), one of Taiwan's premier medical institutions, has claimed the life of a 49-year-old Indonesian migrant worker. Rescue authorities discovered the victim's body early Tuesday (April 22) morning, trapped beneath tons of twisted metal and debris. The worker had been missing since the structure's catastrophic failure Monday morning, sparking an overnight search that ended in tragedy.
Officials from the Taipei City Government (台北市政府), the capital's municipal authority, reported that rescue teams encountered dangerous structural instabilities that severely hampered recovery efforts. Emergency personnel were forced to wait while construction crews dismantled upper scaffolding layers, with the painstaking operation extending until 2 a.m. Tuesday. Investigators from Taipei's Department of Labor (勞動局) determined that contractors had dangerously overloaded adjacent scaffolding with construction materials, violating weight restrictions outlined in the Occupational Safety and Health Act (職業安全衛生法).
Hospital administrators acknowledged a troubling delay in the response, revealing that the construction contractor never reported the worker missing — the disappearance was only confirmed after journalists began asking questions. National Taiwan University Hospital officials have pledged full cooperation with municipal authorities to determine accountability in the incident. Law enforcement officials are now preparing criminal charges against both the employer and other responsible parties, underscoring the egregious nature of the safety violations that led to the worker's death. ★
