TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — An explosion at an aluminum factory in Kaohsiung City on Saturday (March 23) morning left two Thai workers dead and six other employees injured.

The blast occurred when a control mechanism malfunctioned, supplying an inadequate amount of water to cool the metal, CNA reported. The labor authorities ordered the factory in Hunei District to suspend operations and ordered it to pay a fine of NT$300,000 (US$9,380).

The accident occurred after 8 a.m., with the emergency services transporting eight people to hospitals in nearby Tainan City. Two of them, Thais aged 37 and 50, were diagnosed with out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) and pronounced dead at the hospitals.

Out of three other migrant workers, one was receiving surgery Saturday afternoon, one was under observation, and another was allowed to leave. Two Taiwanese employees aged 47 were conscious and in a stable condition, while a third one, aged 34, had left the hospital.

Members of the Qiaotou District Prosecutors Office in charge of the investigation arrived at the site around 1 p.m. to analyze the cause of the blast.