Update Sept.2 8:55 a.m.

The crane operator, surnamed Wu (吳), badly injured in the accident, was pronounced dead after receiving treatment in the hospital at 2:19 a.m. Monday (Sept.2). 

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A tower crane collapsed at a construction site in Kaohsiung on Sunday (Sept. 1), leading to the death of a Vietnamese foreign worker, with another foreign worker seriously injured.

Upon receiving news of the crane collapse, the Kaohsiung Fire Department dispatched nine vehicles and 19 emergency rescue staff. Upon arrival, they found a 48-year-old Vietnamese male who was crushed in the accident and had no vital signs, per CNA.

Pi Chung-mou (皮忠謀), chief secretary of the Kaohsiung City Government’s Labor Bureau, said the crane's base suddenly collapsed when it was turning without a hanging object. It crushed a Vietnamese worker on the ground and immediately killed him. 

The tower crane operator, a Taiwan national surnamed Wu (吳), fell to the ground and was badly injured, requiring hospitalization. 

Pi said Kaohsiung’s labor bureau ordered a work stoppage with a full investigation. Furthermore, personnel will assist with medical treatment and seeking financial compensation for injured workers.

Pi said the bureau will also cooperate with the Vietnamese government to assist families of migrant workers to come to Taiwan to handle funeral arrangements.