No injuries reported in Hsinta Power Plant explosion in Kaohsiung

No injuries reported in Hsinta Power Plant explosion in Kaohsiung

2025-09-10

A gas leak led to a massive explosion and fire that shook Kaohsiung’s Yong’an District Tuesday night. The leak was ignited during testing at the Hsinta Power Plant, resulting in a blaze that lit up the night sky and sent shockwaves through nearby neighborhoods. Thankfully, no injuries were reported. But the incident has sparked serious concerns over safety protocols and detection systems.

An explosion and fire at Hsinta Power Plant were reported on Tuesday evening.

A loud explosion was accompanied by tremors. Flames and dense smoke were visible from several kilometers away.

The fire is thought to have originated at the plant’s newly built gas unit due to a leak during a test run. Fire fighters were immediately dispatched, with 25 fire engines and 63 fire fighters that put out the blaze in less than half an hour.

Tseng Wen-sheng
Taipower chair
The unit has two gas turbines. The leak happened in the gas supply line to one of them. Once the alarm was sounded, our team shut down the unit and initiated evacuation procedures. Fortunately, none of our colleagues on site were injured.

Hung Kuei-chung
Hsinta Power Plant
The unit has been undergoing trials and was almost ready to be linked to the grid. We’ll conduct an investigation to assess the damage.

On Wednesday morning, officials explained the situation to local residents, who say they noticed a strange smell half an hour before the explosion. Borough wardens slammed Taipower, saying that its gas leak detection system is less sensitive than a human nose.

Ho Ying-cheng
Xingang Borough Warden
You didn’t know anything until it exploded? Should we just sit and wait for it to blow up anytime over a whole year?

Huang Chi-yang
Taipower
The leak occurred at 7:57 p.m. during a test run. We immediately started a shut down. Though the valves shut off automatically, there was already gas in the area.

Ho Ying-cheng
Xingang Borough Warden
So you all ran off and left us borough wardens to get barbecued here?

Newly inaugurated Minister of Economic Affairs, Kung Ming-hsin, offered an apology to shocked locals.

The explosion occurred on a natural gas unit that was scheduled to begin operations at the end of the year, just in time for the decommissioning of a coal fired unit, Unit 3. Amid concerns about the impact to the electricity supply, Taipower says the incident will not affect this year’s supply.

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

#electricity #explosion #taipower #kaohsiung #fire #naturalgas

天然氣洩漏! 興達電廠新2號機測試爆炸幸無人傷亡

2025-09-10

高雄永安區的興達電廠週二晚上驚傳爆炸，好幾公里外就能看見熊熊火光和濃煙，伴隨著劇烈爆炸聲，造成當地居民恐慌。消防局出動大批人車前往，初步了解，是興達電廠燃氣新2號機進行測試運轉時，天然氣洩漏導致起火，所幸火勢半小時就撲滅，沒有人員傷亡。

高雄永安區興達電廠，9號晚間驚傳爆炸起火。

第一時間傳出巨大爆炸聲伴隨震動，暗夜中的紅色火光和濃濃白煙，隔了好幾公里都能看見。

根據了解，起火點在興達電廠新設燃氣機組基地，二號機組進行試運轉測試時，疑似天然氣洩漏導致起火。消防局獲報立即出動，派遣25輛消防車、63名消防人員，不到半小時撲滅火勢。

[[台電董事長曾文生]]
“機組有兩個氣渦輪機，它是其中一部氣渦輪機的供氣。管線有一個地方漏氣，我們所有同仁在警報響起之後，就開始進行關斷，跟人員撤離的相關程序，所以不幸中的大幸是，我們在場工作的同仁沒有任何傷亡。”

[[興達發電廠廠長洪貴忠]]
“其實這部機組已經測試一段時間，慢慢也已經可以逐步發電，準備要接受系統調度，損傷狀況我們還要做現場調查。”

興達電廠新機組測試發生外洩爆炸事件，週三上午向社區召開說明會，居民說早在爆炸前半小時就聞到味道，里長們也懷疑台電的氣體外洩偵測系統是在偵測什麼，比人體還不如。

[[永安區新港里長何應成]]
“你們什麼都不知道，爆炸了才知道，這樣我們整年都在等你們爆?”

[[台電南部施工處長黃啟祥]]
“晚上7點57分(測試)有洩漏，我們就趕緊降下來，當時我們有自動切斷閥，但是自動切斷閥，先前洩漏的就瀰漫在這空間。”

[[新港里長何應成]]
“不是你們跑了就算了欸，你們跑了，我們這些里長留在這裡巴比Q嗎?”

驚天一爆，嚇壞附居民，甫接任經濟部長的龔明鑫也道歉。

這次爆炸的是新建的2-2號天然氣循環機組，原本預計年底加入運轉，加上燃媒3號機組預計在今年底除役，也讓外界擔心是否會影響電力，台電強調不會影響到今年的電力供應。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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For more Taiwan news, tune in:
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Baseball musical at Metropolitan Hall

Taiwan’s baseball is thriving, with a recent landmark victory at the Little League Baseball World Series. Taiwan defeated the US regional champion 7-0, and won the title for the first time in 29 years. A Taiwanese theater is bringing the game to the stage with a new musical that tells the story of a determined little league baseball team. FTV reporter Stephany Yang spoke to members of the cast as well as the players from Taiwan’s victorious Dongyuan Elementary School’s Little League team.

The musical follows the journey of the Seagulls, a struggling youth baseball team. Their fortunes begin to change when two very different coaches take on the coaching roles—one disciplined and strategic, the other nurturing and motivational. As the team trains for the national championship, they discover the true meaning of perseverance, teamwork, and chasing dreams. To get into character, the actors had to undergo rigorous training. They even got to train with former baseball stars like Chou Szu-chi.

Liu Yun-hsi
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Chou Szu-chi
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Fresh off their Little League Baseball World Series Championship, the players of Taiwan’s victorious Little League team attended the musical’s premiere, sharing reflections on their journey to the victory and lending their support to the cast.

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The musical will be showcased at Metropolitan Hall on September 21 and 22.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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ITRI plays vital role in building trusted chip partnerships: President Liu

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Health experts promote cancer education and free screenings

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A traditional puppet show educates the audience about liver cancer prevention, reminding men that they need to be especially careful about this type of cancer.

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In this picture posted online by a Keelung resident, a swarm of bees are seen feasting on a rotting fish carcass. The picture, taken at the Badouzi Harbor, surprised many people who did not expect bees to eat carrion. However, experts said these are no common bees, but lesser banded hornets.

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Although lesser banded hornets are not as aggressive as black-bellied hornets, they are anything but vegetarian. Seeing a whole swarm of hornets feasting on a dead fish is enough to make anyone’s hair stand on end.

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