The Kaohsiung City Government is naming a local petrochemical firm as the culprit behind the deadly explosions that rocked the city earlier this week.
Kaohsiung’s top environmental official said on Saturday that the explosions were linked to several mistakes on the part of LCY Chemical Corp. The official said a sudden pressure decrease indicated a leak occurring Thursday night in a pipeline used by LCY to obtain propylene, a highly flammable gas. He also said LCY failed to notify authorities of the problems with the pipeline, and that the leak went on for several hours as the authorities struggled to identify the gas and its source.
The leak led to a series of massive explosions that killed 28 people and injured almost 300. The explosions were so powerful that cars were flung into the air and streets were ripped apart.
In a press conference on Sunday, LCY apologized for the explosions for the first time. When asked why the company did not notify authorities of the leak, LCY said it checked the pipeline and did not find any problems. It also said it is fully cooperating with investigators and hoped to find out what really happened.