By AFP

TAIPEI: Seven people -- five of them firefighters -- died in a fire that broke out late Saturday in an electronics factory in northern Taiwan, the local fire department said.

The inferno raged through the eight-floor building of a circuit board maker, located in an industrial district in Taoyuan City.

Seven firefighters were trapped by large fallen objects as they tried to search for people inside the factory.

They were rescued early Sunday but only two survived. The two others killed were factory workers from Thailand.

Seven other firefighters were injured, five of them suffering burns from an unidentified liquid, according to the fire department.

Traces of diesel and toxic chemicals were also found at the scene, it said.

The disaster follows a string of recent accidents in Taiwanese factories, raising questions about safety standards.

A huge fire broke out at a refinery of the state-run CPC Corporation in January, also in Taoyuan. There were no injuries in that incident.

In December, six Vietnamese workers were killed in another Taoyuan factory blaze that erupted in the middle of the night.

The workers were found to have been staying in an illegal dormitory at the factory, highlighting the often sub-standard living conditions for migrant workers on the island.</s>Taiwan is mourning the deaths of five firefighters and two Thai migrant workers in a weekend blaze at a computer equipment factory.

The fire broke out Saturday night at a plant belonging to Chin Poon Industrial in the city of Taoyuan just south of the capital, Taipei, the official Central News Agency reported.

CNA said the firefighters had lost contact with colleagues outside and became trapped under heavy equipment. Another seven firefighters were injured in the blaze, it said.

It quoted Chin Poon spokesman Hsiao Kung-yen as saying Sunday that the first fire alarm sounded in an area where thin layers of polymer are applied to printed circuit boards.

Large amounts of flammable chemicals apparently fueled the blaze and five firefighters were injured by being splashed with caustic and acidic materials. A total of 189 firefighters and 67 trucks and ambulances were sent to the scene of the fire, CNA said.

The company has been cited on previous occasions for safety violations, the news agency said.</s>BEIJING (AP) — Taiwan is mourning the deaths of five firefighters and two Thai migrant workers in a weekend blaze at a computer equipment factory.

The official Central News Agency said the fire broke out Saturday night at the plant belonging to Chin Poon Industrial in the city of Taoyuan outside the capital, Taipei.

CNA said the firefighters had lost contact with colleagues outside and became trapped under heavy equipment.

It said another seven firefighters were injured in the blaze.

CNA quoted Chin Poon spokesman Hsiao Kung-yen as saying Sunday that the first fire alarm sounded in an area where thin layers of polymer are applied to printed circuit boards. Large amounts of flammable chemicals apparently fueled the blaze.</s>TAIPEI
• Seven people - five of them firefighters - died in a fire that broke out at an electronics factory in northern Taiwan's Taoyuan City, the local fire department said.

The firefighters were killed after they were trapped by large fallen objects as they tried to search for people inside the factory late on Saturday. The two others killed were Thai factory workers.

PESHAWAR
• The Pakistani prison authorities have moved the jailed doctor believed to have helped the CIA hunt down Osama bin Laden, his attorney said, speculating it could be a prelude to his release.

Shakil Afridi's lawyer, Mr Qamar Nadeem, confirmed his client's transfer but said he was not sure where he was now.

Afridi's imprisonment has long been a source of tension between Pakistan and the United States, which cut military aid over accusations that Pakistan continues to shelter Taleban militants.

BANGKOK
• Over a thousand people gathered in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai yesterday, police said, to protest against the building of a government luxury housing project on forested land.

Public frustration has been mounting over the project since images of officials' homes - carved into the green foothills of Doi Suthep mountain - started circulating on social media earlier this year.</s>Five firemen, two migrant workers killed in Taiwan fire

A massive inferno raged inside a printed circuit board manufacturer in Taoyuan City Saturday night, killing five firemen and two migrant workers, with two firefighter listed in serious condition, the city's fire department said Sunday, Focus Taiwan reports.

The department said that seven firefighters lost contact with their team after they raced to battle the blaze that broke out at Chin Poon Industrial at around 9 p.m. Saturday to rescue several migrant workers believed to be trapped inside the factory.

However, five of the firemen were found killed later, reportedly from a collapsed structure which trapped them. Two others were rescued with serious injuries.

Lu Tsung-yu, the first of the firemen to be rescued, was found at 00:50 a.m. Sunday, the department said. Lin Wei-hsi, another fireman, was found at around 4 a.m. Sunday. Both of them are hospitalized in serious condition.</s>Chinese bombers and warships conducted exercises near Taiwan this month, a show of force that officials in Beijing called a warning not to pursue formal independence. Last year the number of Chinese air patrols off Taiwan’s east coast quadrupled, and Beijing under President Xi Jinping has stepped up pressure on the island democracy to “reunify” with the motherland.

China’s bullying is raising alarms in the U.S., which is obligated to help Taiwan defend itself under the Taiwan Relations Act. The mainland People’s Liberation...
A fire in a circuit board factory in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, kills seven people including five firefighters. It is the city's third major industrial fire this year.