Car with family of five plunges into ravine after road collapses

Car with family of five plunges into ravine after road collapses

2025-08-01

And the heavy downpours have caused a tragic loss for a family in Kaohsiung. A car carrying a couple and three of their four children was caught in a road collapse that ended with all five car occupants plunging down a steep slope. The family had been driving along a mountain road in Taoyuan District when the car got stuck as the road gradually caved in. The father was initially able to get out of the car and tried to get the help of other motorists. But ultimately, the road gave in fully while he was trying to pull his family out of the car, resulting in tragedy.

A man runs toward the car, splashing water with every step. That’s Mr. Lee, whose car is stuck on the collapsing road with his wife and three children inside.

Mr. Tsai
Eyewitness
The road caved in at the middle, I saw the car come crashing down. He first came to me asking for help, asking me to shine a light where the road was starting to cave in. His car was stuck in the pit.

Mr. Tsai recounts how Mr. Lee urged him to light up the area and to report the incident. After asking for help, Mr. Lee returned to his car. Not long after, he came back.

Mr. Tsai
Eyewitness
He said his kids were still inside. I told him try to pull them out any way he could. He tried to get them out and then he came back to me a third time. He then went back to the car. I saw how the slope eventually crumbled and the car plunged down the slope, along with him.

Mr. Lee tried to get help from Mr. Tsai three times as the road gradually caved in due to the heavy rains. As Mr. Lee returned to his stuck car for a third time, Mr. Tsai noticed the road and car were beginning to sink. Mr. Lee crouched at the side of the road to try and rescue his wife and kids, but it seems he lost his footing and plunged into the void along with the car. Relatives of the family are devastated.

Mr. Lee’s mother
The kids all go to school here. They’ve lived here a long time. I’m in Hualien, but it’s kind of far, so we didn’t have a lot of time to see each other.

Mr. Lee’s mother grieves her sudden loss. The only survivor in the family is one of the sons, a 14 year old who had stayed at home and was not in the car. He is in profound shock.

Chen Chi-mai
Kaohsiung mayor
If you need anything, please let us know.

Mr. Lee’s surviving son is currently in the care of relatives. Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai has visited the family, and the city’s Education Bureau has contacted the kid’s school and other agencies to offer support to the child.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#tragedy #car #rain #naturaldisaster #family #roadcollapse

高雄一家五口墜谷! 目擊駕駛:李男自行爬上求援為救妻失足

2025-08-01

高雄桃源一家五口墜谷的意外，14歲二兒子因留在家逃過一劫，聽到噩耗，至今仍難以接受，高雄市長陳其邁到府慰問，表示會好好照顧這名孩子，而目睹意外過程的蔡姓駕駛，前來殯儀館製作證人筆錄，透露李男當時三度上來求救，發現車子墜落後，跪在路基邊緣想救妻兒，疑似也失足摔落。

行車紀錄器拍下，一名男子涉水狂奔而來，原來他是車子墜落山谷的駕駛李先生，當時自行爬上路面求救。

[[目擊駕駛蔡先生]]
“坑洞已經整個到道路的中間了，(就看到他車子摔下去)對對，有上來跟我求救，說看我可不可以幫他照個燈光，因為他那個地方已經在崩塌了，因為他的車是卡在坑洞那裡”

來製作證人筆錄的蔡姓駕駛透露，當時李男請他幫忙照明跟報案，後來又二度上來求救。

[[目擊駕駛蔡先生]]
“說他的小朋友還在車上，我說你看能不能想盡辦法，先把小朋友拉起來。第三次爬上來，我看到情況是，是看到他跪在坑洞那邊，就看到他的小朋友(墜谷)，他就跟著一起掉下去”

當時路基不斷被豪雨掏空崩塌，三度向蔡姓駕駛求救的李男，折返時疑似已經發現車輛墜谷，後來李男跪在路基邊緣想救妻兒，疑似也失足摔落，讓家屬悲痛不已。

[[罹難者李男母親]]
“小朋友都在這裡讀書。(住)好久了他也是回花蓮，應該是路程太遠了，我們比較沒有時間(見面)”

李男母親談起兒子一家人，忍不住哽咽，意外墜落深谷。14歲二兒子因留在家逃過一劫，聽到噩耗，至今仍難以接受。

[[高雄市長陳其邁]]
“有什麼需要的話就要跟我們講”

李男二兒子目前將暫時由親友照顧，陳其邁到府探訪後表示，教育局已聯絡校方，未來一定會全力的把小朋友照顧好。

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And if you’re a fan of musicals this one is for you. The popular Broadway musical production Sunset Boulevard is coming to Taipei, with a star-studded cast. Among them is best-selling soprano Sarah Brightman, who is returning to musical theater for the first time in 30 years. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to the cast of Sunset Boulevard to find out more.

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Tim Draxl
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Sarah Brightman is iconic. I have known Sarah Brightman ever since I was a little boy when she was playing Christine in the Phantom of the Opera. I used to listen to her. I used to sing along to her so getting to work with Sarah is a dream come true. It has been an absolute joy working with her and kind of being able to play with these characters and they are such beautifully complex and rich characters.

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I did the show 30 years ago, and the sets were just as lavish and the score is exactly the same and beautiful but the major difference is the actors, the players and how they tell the stories. I think this is the best version of course that I have ever seen. I joined the cast later on, so I had the opportunity of seeing it three times before I came into the show. Honestly, the quality of this cast is really phenomenal.

Ashleigh Rubenach
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How did I get into character in the 1950s? Well, I actually grew up watching a lot of these old films set in the studio backlot, these golden age era films like Singing in the Rain. I was really inspired by a lot of women like Debbie Reynolds and Grace Kelly. I watched them with my grandmother so they are very sentimental for me so I really feel like I had a sense of who the kind of strong, determined, optimistic women of that era were. And then, it has been very exciting to put my spin on it and to find a way for Betty to have a real voice in amongst a system and a time where women don’t traditionally.

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The musical, which is composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber, will run from Aug. 2 to Aug. 10 at the National Theater in Taipei.

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Pingtung’s Wannian River revitalized through 20 years of hard work

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A mother moorhen forages on the riverbank, her chicks waiting not-so-patiently to be fed. Another bird finds a meal upstream, taking advantage of the river’s rich resources. This is Pingtung’s Wannian River, which supports a diverse ecosystem of birds and other wildlife.

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It seems that the river has been successfully revitalized now, because we can observe some of Taiwan’s resident birds here, such as the black-crowned night heron and common moorhen.

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Huang Ting-lun
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I returned to my hometown as a young adult and became aware of this issue. Many of us involved grew up along the banks of the river, so a lot of our childhood memories are here. So we thought that this river should continue existing.

When former county commissioners Tsao Chi-hung and Pan Men-an later took office, they both continued restoring the river. By guiding clean water from upstream wetlands into the river and preventing wastewater from entering it, the water quality gradually improved. Now bustling with life and greenery, the riverside has become a popular place for residents to stroll and relax.

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Through the combined forces of grassroots organizing and government support, the Wannian River has been given a new life. Now it can live up to its name, flowing eternally through the city and maintaining its place as an integral part of local life.

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We met an expert and learned from him. We learned the Japanese technique and Taiwanese way of simmering to bring out the strength and flavor of the millet.

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Huang Yu-hsiang
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We noticed the market shift as people gradually began paying attention to nutrition, so we decided to try using millet. Since it’s healthy for everyone, it’s worth it to use all-natural healthy ingredients.

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Central and Southern Taiwan can’t seem to catch a break from heavy downpours. Over in Changhua, the downpours caused a road to collapse completely, leaving a sheer cliff in the space that once used to be the front yard of a house. In Pingtung, access to the village of Labuwa has been cut off once again by surging rivers. With medicine stocks running low, the head of Wutai Township embarked on a solo trek up the mountain wading rivers and braving the elements to bring medication to those who need it.

Water rushes down the hillside, but this man seems unfazed. Wearing a helmet and a yellow raincoat, he wades across the river.

Heavy downpours have caused rockfalls and landslides, once again isolating the village of Labuwa. Worried that the local residents with chronic diseases would run out of medicines before repairs are made, the head of Wutai Township decided to go on a trek up the mountain all by himself to bring them supplies.

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The director of the clinic spoke with the patients remotely. Some of the people still in the village have chronic conditions like hypertension and diabetes. They haven’t been able to come down to get their medication, so I decided to bring them the medicines myself.

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Voice of Dralrawusu Pacekele
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They think it’s dangerous? I do this all the time! I often go to Feilong Waterfall. You just have to be careful. Be careful, and it’s alright.

Central and southern Taiwan are getting battered by heavy rains. With disasters cropping up all over the place, local officials are as busy as can be.

Over in Changhua, the head of Tong’an Village received a report at 6 in the morning that a street was in danger of collapsing. Just as he was approaching the area, the road gave in right in front of his eyes.

Lin Tzu-lung
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This road was passable before I got here, and as I was approaching, the whole thing collapsed. If I had been a bit further along, I might have gone down too.

The village chief was shaken. Had he been a few steps further forward, he would’ve fallen into what is now a sheer cliff. The mountainside crumbled, taking with it the front yard of a house. Fortunately, the elderly woman living inside had been evacuated the night before by her granddaughter. She returned to her home in the early morning to check out the state of the house.

- It’s all collapsed. Are you still going to live here?
- Yes
- Yes? You’re not afraid it will collapse?
- No. I’m old, so it’s alright.

Though the building itself does not seem to be at risk for the moment, and the resident says she’s not afraid, authorities have relocated her to a safe place for now.

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Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

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