TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A young hiker sparked a wildfire in the mountains between New Taipei’s Shulin District and Taoyuan’s Guishan District in a fatal accident on Thursday evening.
The 20-year-old man was hiking near the Datong Mountain Observation Platform with a female friend when he decided to climb an electrical tower to take photos of the sunset around 6 p.m., reported UDN. After climbing up the tower, the man was electrocuted and fell an estimated 15 meters to the ground below.
The electrical surge caused the man to catch fire, which led to dry silver grass in the area igniting. After the deadly fall, the victim’s friend alerted authorities.
Fire fighters from New Taipei and Taoyuan were rapidly dispatched to put out the blaze. The fire reportedly burned approximately 30 square meters near the observation tower, but was under control by 8:30 p.m., reported CNA.
Taipower reportedly shut down electricity to the area after the electrocution was reported. After an initial investigation, the man is presumed to have died from cardiac arrest due to the electrical shock before he fell from the tower.
Authorities in Taoyuan will investigate the incident to assess the safety conditions of the electrical tower to avoid similar incidents in the future.
