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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Bodies of firefighters discovered
Firefighters light incense and burn ghost money in Greater Kaohsiung on Saturday night. Photo: Hung Ting-hung, Taipei Times
FALLEN IN ACTION: From personal effects and testimony from family the two bodies are said to be of the Kaohsiung Fire Department section head and secretary-general
By Hung Ting-hung and Pao Chien-hsin / Staff reporters
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday said it is waiting for the results of DNA tests to verify whether the two bodies discovered on Saturday night during culvert dredging at the site of the gas pipeline explosions in Greater Kaohsiung — conducted in preparation for the Tropical Storm Fong-Wong — were those of Greater Kaohsiung Government Fire Department Secretary-General Lin Chi-tse （林基澤） and section head Liu Yao-wen （劉耀文）.
Lin and Liu were reported missing after the explosions that shook Greater Kaohsiung on July 31 and Aug. 1.
Lin and Liu were scouting the intersection of Kaisyuan and Ersheng roads, just seconds before a blast took place.
Greater Kaohsiung Fire Bureau Director Chen Hung-lung （陳虹龍） yesterday said the pair were believed to be standing on an uncharted culvert, when escaping propene is thought to have triggered the pipeline explosions and hurled them into the drains.
Judging from the bodies, the two might have been pinned down by falling debris from their waists up, with their legs overlapping, he added.
The bodies were found just outside the culvert.
According to Chen, Kaisyuan Road was flooded with rainwater shortly after the blasts, which prevented rescue dogs from locating the missing men. Since the uncharted culvert is to be investigated by the authorities working to determine responsibility for the accident, excavation has been limited to sifting gravel to prevent the culvert from being damaged.
It was not until dredging was ordered on Saturday in preparation for the approach of Fung-Wong that the bodies were finally discovered, he said.
District prosecutors and forensic investigators yesterday morning identified the bodies as the missing firefighters from testimonials by family members, as well as the watches, uniforms, and transceivers found on the scene, but a request for DNA tests filed with the prosecutors’ office is still yet to be delivered. The results of the postmortem will be announced within days, the office said.
A female worker surnamed Lin （林）, who came across Liu’s body, said she dug out a leg wrapped in a firefighter’s uniform and was initially terrified.
“I told myself not to panic, that I would bring good karma upon myself for the good deed,” she said.
The other body, thought to be Lin Chi-tse’s, had a watch around the wrist bone, which was not destroyed by the explosions because it was buried under debris.
Lin Chi-tse’s daughter yesterday confirmed that the watch belonged to her father.
Meanwhile, Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu （陳菊） in a Facebook post yesterday said: “Two bodies were found on the reconstruction site and have been identified as Kaohsiung City Government Fire Department Secretary-General Lin Chi-tse and section head Liu Yao-wen. We hope that the discovery will provide some comfort to their family members. May their valiant souls protect Greater Kaohsiung in this stormy night.”（Additional reporting by Huang Chia-lin）
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
