A few floors of one of the most prominent hotels in Taichung collapsed this evening on the busiest road (Taichung Gang Road). Several cars and scooters got trapped in the collapse. Just drove by there this evening - looks like a war zone. Construction crews will be working overnight to clear it all up.
You can see video footage here: tw.nextmedia.com/rnews/article/S … D/20110715
UPDATE: It was 10 floors of scaffolding that collapsed.
woah! and to think I was driving there today! Hope the drivers of those crushed scooters are ok!
Hm… they say the scaffolding collapsed - it’s a hotel under construction…
It doesn’t look like collapsed scaffolding, but elements of the façade indeed.
I got the same impression from the photo as what they say there (scaffolding) - so, as usual on Forumosa, speculation is ahead of knowledge. 
(Last edited: 2011-07-16)
Just so were clear, according to the TV reports it was the scaffolding that fell due to wind blowing it down, it is shown clearly on video.
Hold on!@ The Splendor has been there for years. I owned a serviced apartment there for a year or two a few years back. Made a killing on it, too. Unless its a different place…
wix posted some photos online earlier - he was there when it happened. According to him, it was only scaffolding.
My bad. There was a lot of rubble on the ground so it looked like more to me. The hotel has been around for a while and was going through extensive renovations on the bottom 10 floors.
I was there a couple of hours after it happened. I posted a few photos on Demotix.
Must be those damned mainland tourists. They are always slamming hotel doors, 24h a day.
this thread is very misleading.
out of curiosity, was it bamboo or steel scaffolding?
ttv.com.tw/videocity/video_play.asp?id=58654
12 hurt so far. They blame “sudden wind”. Scaffolding sounds metal, looks bamboo.
I’m sure live music had something to do with this!
Surprised no-one has died.
I am curious what happens in this kind of scenario if someone gets injured and taken to hospital and have no health insurance?
The govt pays I think.
I’ve changed the title now.
“Stuff” keeps falling… A metal piece clipped a car, after falling ten stories and four lanes apart… If you live in Taichung, avoid the area.
Next step: City Government will likely go into hotels, then send a letter explaining they have to close the next day.
No more hotels in Taichung within a month. My prediction, at least, based off how they operate.
[quote=“Puppet”]Next step: City Government will likely go into hotels, then send a letter explaining they have to close the next day.
No more hotels in Taichung within a month. My prediction, at least, based off how they operate.[/quote]
Don’t be silly! Its Taichung. Hotels have money. Jason Who? and his arselicking sycophants LOVE money! So the hotels won’t close, and an unspecified number of city government officials will suddenly have a lot more money in secret bank accounts. Bidness as usual.