TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A shipping container that got caught on the underside of a bridge on Tuesday morning (April 4) took nearly five hours to remove and, along with a five-car pileup that occurred in the afternoon, caused a traffic jam extending over 10 kilometers.
ETToday said police received a report about the incident on National Freeway 1 south in Madou District, Tainan at 10:34 a.m. They are still investigating why the shipping container was raised.
The container hit a sign on the bridge and its support frame, causing the sign to fall to the ground and the frame to pierce the container. This made the task of removing the container more difficult, requiring authorities to use cutting equipment to separate the frame.
CTWANT cited the semitruck driver as saying to the police that the shipping container had “suddenly sprung up” while he was approaching the bridge, then got caught and separated from the vehicle. Thankfully, the force did not cause the semitruck to lose control, and he was able to slow down and park the vehicle near the exit.
According to the police’s preliminary investigation, the driver was not driving under the influence, and no one was injured in the incident. However, both the left and center lanes had to be closed to traffic while the container was removed, leaving only the right lane for passage.
As authorities rushed to remove the container and restore the flow of traffic, however, a five-car pileup occurred around 7 km before the scene. SETNews reported that an accident involving a car, small truck, large truck, and two semitrucks occurred at around 1 p.m., resulting in four injuries.
The cause of the pileup has yet to be confirmed.
Four people are reportedly injured in a five-car pileup not far from where the shipping container got stuck under the bridge. (CNA photo)
(Facebook, New Reporter video)
