Safety measures in the Xueshan Tunnel will be improved within two weeks following a fatal accident there, the ROC Ministry of Transportation and Communications said May 10.
“Automatic doors that shut firmly will be installed at emergency exits to prevent smoke from entering escape shafts and ensure safe evacuation should similar incidents occur in the future,” MOTC Minister Mao Chi-kuo said while reporting to a group of lawmakers.
A May 7 collision and fire inside the 12.9-kilometer-long tunnel on the Chiang Wei-shui Freeway connecting New Taipei City and Yilan County resulted in two deaths and 31 injuries. The incident, involving a sedan, a truck and two double-decker buses, was the most serious since the tunnel began operations in 2006.
“Related government agencies will be charged with offering proper emergency training to bus drivers, who will then be able to help passengers evacuate in a timely manner,” Mao said.
The fire has also raised safety concerns regarding an ongoing renovation project on the Suao-Hualien Highway linking the east coast counties of Yilan and Hualien. “There are four tunnels over three kilometers long on this winding highway that would be equally deadly in emergencies,” said Tsai Chung-yueh, a member of environmental group Citizen of the Earth.
Xueshan Tunnel, which took 16 years to build, is the world’s fifth-longest tunnel, sources said. (THN)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw