Death toll in Taiwanese golf ball factory fire rises to 10; 4 were firefighters

Search teams found the bodies of the last three missing people on Sunday at the site of a golf ball factory fire in southern Taiwan bringing the death toll to 10 according to Taiwanese media reportsLaunch Technologies the operator of the plant is a major global supplier of golf ballsFour of the victims were firefighters Taiwans Central News Agency quoting a Pingtung County fire official said an explosion caused part of the building to collapse at about 610 pm on Friday trapping firefighters and workers under rubble A second explosion followed 20 minutes later Two bodies were found on Sunday morning and the final one was recovered in the afternoonAbout 100 people were injured in the blaze at Pingtung Technology Industrial Park The fire was not extinguished until the next day The cause remained unclearTaiwan is a major manufacturer of golf balls with factories supplying major brands including Callaway TaylorMade Bridgestone Mizuno and Wilson according to the 2021 annual report of Launch Technologies CoLaunch Technologies which is listed on the Taipei Exchange shipped about 260 million golf balls last year accounting for onefifth of the global total the Central News Agency said About 80 per cent of its sales are in the United StatesThe Ministry of Labour said on Saturday it would open an occupational safety investigation into Launch Technologies and its parent company The factory which is in an export processing zone has been fined in the past for violations found during inspections the Central News Agency saidTaiwan President Tsai Ingwen travelled to Pingtung County on Saturday and met with victims and their families Taiwanese broadcaster TVBS reportedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever