A suspected liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) explosion tore through a commercial hub in New Taipei City’s Banqiao District shortly before 1 a.m. Monday, leaving two second-floor chain restaurants severely damaged and causing minor injuries to five individuals. The forceful detonation jolted residents awake, shattered windows, and scattered debris across the Fuzhong Shopping Area, prompting a massive emergency response and raising immediate concerns about safety protocols involving stored fuel.
The incident targeted two popular establishments, Teishoku 8 and Sushi Express, situated on the second floor of a nine-story reinforced-concrete building on Chongqing Road Lane 12. Emergency services, including 29 vehicles and 88 personnel, arrived after receiving reports at 12:57 a.m. Fire officials confirmed the blast originated on the second level, destroying interior fittings and signage, with the impact zone covering an estimated 165 square meters.
Casualties and Initial Response Efforts
In total, six people required assistance at the scene. Five pedestrians—four women and one man—suffered minor cuts from flying glass shards, though one declined immediate medical transport. A female resident was also transported to a hospital as a precautionary measure. Authorities reported that all individuals taken for assessment were later discharged, and the area was sufficiently cleared to avoid disrupting the crucial morning commute.
Initial investigations quickly ruled out a piped natural gas supply as the cause. Instead, forensic teams located four LPG storage cylinders in a stairwell adjacent to the restaurants’ shared kitchen and staff rest area. Investigators are currently focused on whether a leak from one of these cylinders caused a gas accumulation, leading to the powerful explosion several hours after the last employee reportedly departed at 10 p.m.
Focus Shifts to Structural Integrity and Compensation
The reverberations of the blast extended beyond the immediate radius. Several neighboring businesses, including a nearby conveyor-belt sushi outlet, sustained damage. Residents in surrounding apartment blocks described being violently awakened by a “thunderous bang” and significant building movement.
Chen Tsung-Yueh, Commissioner of the New Taipei City Fire Department, emphasized that evidence pointed to the second floor as the principal seat of the incident.
Later Monday morning, Mayor Hou Yu-yi visited the site to assess the damage and speak with affected residents. He confirmed that at least six surrounding households had sustained residential damage. The Mayor announced the immediate formation of a specialized task force dedicated to assisting affected residents with legal avenues for seeking compensation while the police and fire departments finalize their investigation into the precise cause of the blast.
The incident underscores the critical need for rigorous safety checks and adherence to regulations concerning the storage and handling of compressed gases in commercial and densely populated urban environments to prevent similar dangerous occurrences. Authorities continue working to determine why the ignition occurred several hours after the premises had closed.