Taiwan Chemical Firm Apologizes for Deadly Blasts

Taipei-based LCY Chemical Corporation has apologized to the residents of Taiwan's second-largest city, Kaohsiung, following explosions that killed 28 people and injured more than 300.

Reports from a news conference said the LCY chairman, Bowei Lee, "solemnly apologized to society" and, along with two other company executives, bowed before reporters. The company issued a statement saying it would not "shun any responsibility we should bear."

However, LCY stopped short of accepting blame for the deadly explosions. It said it was not hiding information, but was cooperating with investigators to determine the cause, which authorities in the southern Taiwan city blamed on leaks from an underground propylene pipeline.

Authorities in Kaohsiung said China General Terminal and Distribution Corporation had experienced a pressure drop in the pipeline it uses to transport the gas to LCY. The company then stopped the flow of the gas, but LCY later asked it to resume the flow.

Kaohsiung faults LCY for not informing the city's environmental bureau about the abnormality and for asking for the flow of the gas to be resumed. This meant the leak continued until the explosions erupted around midnight.

The explosions raised fears about miles of underground pipelines in Kaohsiung, a petrochemical processing center since Japan's occupation in the first half of the 20th century, and in other cities of the Chinese island republic.

Taiwan's president, Ma Ying-jeou, directed the government to carry out an inventory and checks of all underground pipelines. Kaohsiung's mayor, Chen Chu, said no pipelines would be rebuilt in the city if the operators could not ensure residents' safety.